SANAA: Thousands of Yemenis protested on Sunday against an immunity law protecting outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh from prosecution and demanded he be put on trial for offences they say he committed during his 33-year rule.
Saleh's immunity deal, part of measures to persuade him to resign after a year of protests against his rule, has angered demonstrators who accuse the security forces controlled by the president and his aides of killing hundreds of their number.
Saleh has agreed to quit the presidency under the U.S.-backed deal, and will leave Yemen shortly for medical treatment, but many in Yemen fear some of his followers will cling to power.
At the capital's airport, dozens of members of Yemen's airforce held a sit-in on the runway to demand the resignation of their commander, Saleh's half-brother, accusing him of corruption.
Air traffic was halted, and riot police with water cannon surrounded the protesters, witnesses said.
Reports from a pro-revolution website run by Saleh's arch-enemy, General Ali Mohsen, said about 600 members of the airforce were participating in the sit-in.
A number of military units have expressed support for the anti-Saleh demonstrators, most notably those under the general.
Opposition groups not involved in the power transition deal brought thousands of their supporters to Sanaa's streets and questioned parliament's authority to approve the immunity law.
"We will continue protesting until all of the revolution's goals are achieved," said Mani al-Matari, a leader of a committee set up by youths who led the protests against Saleh.
"The parliament has no legitimacy and (instead) we are holding on to international law."
The immunity law, passed on Saturday by a parliamentary majority, does not give full protection to Saleh's aides, leaving them vulnerable to prosecution for crimes considered "terrorist acts".
The law does, however, give them immunity for "politically motivated" crimes committed while carrying out official duties.
AL QAEDA
A United Nations envoy welcomed the amendment to the law limiting the immunity of Saleh's aides on Saturday, but said it was too broad by offering an amnesty for some crimes against humanity. U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay also said it may violate international law.
Human rights groups said it may let those guilty of killing get off free.
Protesters were also angered by remarks on Friday by a Middle East diplomat involved in discussions on Saleh's fate, who said Saleh planned to visit the United States for medical treatment but would not leave Yemen permanently.
Neighbouring top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and the United States had backed Saleh for much of his rule, but endorsed the transition deal, fearing that continued unrest would be exploited by al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional wing, seen by Washington as the network's most dangerous branch.
Violence in Yemen's south between the military and al Qaeda has increased in recent months, prompting Saleh's opponents to accuse him of ceding territory to Islamists to bolster his assertion that only he can prevent al Qaeda from growing.
On Sunday, four militants, including a local al Qaeda leader, and one soldier were killed in fighting in the town of Radda, 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Sanaa, a tribal official said. Radda was taken over by an al Qaeda-linked group a week ago.
The clashes took place after talks between tribal leaders and militants broke down over the Islamists' demands that 16 al Qaeda militants be freed and Islamic law be enforced in the town.