Arab world unrest spread

Almaty. February 21. Kazakhstan Today - Instability and anti-government protests inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia spread in the region, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Thousands of people have marched in Moroccan cities to demand that King Mohammed VI give up some of his powers, BBC News reported.

The protesters have not called for the removal of King Mohammed, but for a new constitution curbing his powers.

Political analyst Abdelhay Moudden told the BBC that most of what these people and organisations are calling for has been - political change, freedom, reform, and change in the constitution. "The real problems are lurking, he adds - with a huge young population, many of them poor or unemployed; a gap between rich and poor described by one commentator as "obscene"; and parliamentary elections said by critics to be a fig leaf for an undemocratic system," BBC News reported.

Demonstrators opposed to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi took over large parts of Libya's second city and were reported to be fighting in the capital Tripoli, The Telegraph informed.

Hundreds of people died over the weekend as forces loyal to Gaddafi, who has ruled for 42 years, used high-velocity sniper rifles, machine guns and even anti-aircraft artillery against protesters.

Estimates of the dead varied widely, from 173 by Human Rights Watch, to more than 300.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Col Muammar Gaddafi's second, last night warned of "rivers of blood" and said Libya was on the brink of a civil war that would burn its oil wealth.

Al-Jazeera television news reported clashes in Tripoli's Green Square between protesters and Gaddafi supporters. Witnesses claimed tear gas and live ammunition were used against the protesters.

Thousands of singing and dancing protesters return to the capital's central square after Bahrain's leaders withdraw tanks and riot police following a bloody crackdown a day earlier that left 50 injured. The royal family appears to be backing away from further confrontation after international pressure from the West, The Associated Press reported.

The protesters want the ruling Sunni Muslim monarchy, a key U.S. ally, to give up its control over top government posts and all critical decisions. Shiite Muslims make up 70 per cent of Bahrain's 500,000 citizens but say they face systematic discrimination and poverty and are effectively blocked from key roles in public service and the military.

Thousands of anti-government protesters march in the capital of Sanaa. Riot police kill one protester and injure five on the 10th day of unrest in Yemen, a key U.S. ally. The country's leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh, blames the unrest on a "foreign plot," The Associated Press informed.

Some 300 people march peacefully in Muscat, the capital of a Gulf nation with close military ties to the United States. They demand political reform, including the resignation of several government ministers, but pledge their loyalty to the hereditary monarch, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. Marchers also protest corruption and social inequality. Police don't intervene.

Inspired by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Algerian opposition parties and other groups have been staging rallies, BBC News informed.

They say they will march every Saturday until democratic change is introduced.

An estimated two million people gathered in Cairo's central Tahrir Square on 18 February to celebrate a week since Mr Mubarak's departure from office, BBC News informed.

Much of the unrest was driven by poverty, rising prices, social exclusion, anger over corruption and personal enrichment among the political elite, as well as a demographic bulge of young people unable to find work.

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