Saudi Arabia drafted in up to 10,000 security forces to the north eastern provinces ahead of mass protests planned next week.
 Saudis protesting last night--Reuters |
Desperate to avoid mass uprisings against the House of Saud, security forces have deployed in huge numbers across the region.
King Abdullah is also reported to have told neighboring Bahrain that if they do not put down their own ongoing revolt, his own forces will.
In response to the massive mobilization, protesters are planning to place women on the front ranks to discourage Saudi forces from firing on them.
In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh set off a deadly battle for survival last night as he rejected an opposition peace proposal and ordered troops to fire on demonstrators, killing four.
Efforts to suppress demonstrations by the key ally in the “war on terror” could jeopardize rising volumes of Western aid flooding into the country, diplomats warned.
President Saleh rejected an opposition proposal that would have brought demonstrations to a standstill in return for a promise to step down by the end of the year.
Yemeni troops used rockets and machineguns to attack demonstrators in the north of the country, killing four and injuring nine.
