Djibouti Joins as Rage Sweeps Maghreb, Middle East

[ellenrr]

Friday and Saturday morning Djibouti became the latest Arab country in which popular anti-regime protests have flared.

Thousands marched in Djibouti city, and the police had to use teargas and rubber bullets to disperse them.

The small country is located strategically at the Bab el-Mandeb strait on the southern tip of the Red Sea and hosts a number of foreign military bases.

Across the Bab el-Mandeb is revolting Yemen, where new deaths have been reported after protests intensified again Friday.

At the same time, as many as 84 are reported dead in Libyia in Northern Africa, where security forces are allegedly using unwarranted force. Internet in the country has been cut and the work of foreign media is impeded. The situation in Benghazi is reported to be "getting out of control," while protesters are said to have taken hold of third-largest city Al Bayda.

Violent protests are going on in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, while comparatively more peaceful marches in Jordan have nevertheless resulted in the deaths of at least two persons.