SANA, Yemen — Demonstrators were back in the streets Sunday in Yemen, Bahrain and Libya, where the son of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi said protesters had seized control of some military bases and tanks.
Appearing on Libyan state television Sunday night after six days of protests, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi warned protesters that they risked igniting a civil war in which Libya's oil wealth "will be burned."
"We are not Tunisia and Egypt," the younger Gadhafi said, referring to the uprisings that toppled longtime regimes in Libya's neighbors.
"Moammar Gadhafi, our leader, is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are with him," the son said in a rambling 40-minute speech. "The armed forces are with him. Tens of thousands are heading here to be with him. We will fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet."
He acknowledged that the army made mistakes during protests because it was not trained to deal with demonstrators but added that the number of dead had been exaggerated, giving a death toll of 84. Human Rights Watch put the number at 174 through Saturday.
Gadhafi's son offered to put forward within days changes that he described as a "historic national initiative."
He said the regime was willing to remove some restrictions and to begin a discussion of the constitution. He offered to change a number of laws, including those covering the news media and the penal code. He threatened to "eradicate the pockets of sedition" and said the army will play a main role in restoring order.
Rebellion has sprouted in a half-dozen cities against Gadhafi, who came to power in a coup in 1969. Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city with about 1 million people, has been at the center of unrest.
Jamal Eddin Mohammed, 53, said thousands marched Sunday toward the cemetery in the capital of Tripoli to bury at least a dozen protesters. They feared more clashes when they passed Gadhafi's palace and the regime's security headquarters.
"Everything is behind that (Gadhafi) compound; hidden behind wall after wall. The doors open and close and soldiers and tanks just come out, always as a surprise, and mostly after dark," he told the Associated Press by telephone.
In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. has raised strong objections with Libyan officials, including Foreign Minister Musa Kusa, about the use of lethal force against demonstrators.
In Yemen, a stalemate
In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the nation's ruler of more than 32 years, offered to have protesters sit down with him and talk over their differences as thousands of Yemenis gathered Sunday outside Sana University.
"We are ready to respond to their demands if they are legitimate," Saleh said, according to the state-run Saba News Agency. "We have called them and we repeat our call to them for dialogue."
Yemen's main opposition coalition rejected the offer. "There is no dialogue with bullets, batons and acts of thugs," the Joint Parties Meeting, a coalition of six opposition groups, said in an e-mailed statement.
Saleh, 68, has ruled since 1978 and he has backed several U.S. attempts to disrupt al-Qaeda, which has been using Yemen as a base. Rebellions were taking place well before the latest uprisings. In 1994, Saleh used his army to crush an attempt at secession in the south.
Yemen remains the Arab world's poorest state. Almost half of the people live on less than $2 a day, and unemployment is at 40%. Its dwindling oil supply is likely to run out in 2017, according to the World Bank.
Protesters complain of government corruption and political patronage benefiting Saleh, his family and tribal leaders.
Tawakkol Karman, a mother of three, stood outside Sana University on Saturday and told a crowd of protesters it was time for Saleh to go.
"We want an end to the regime. Saleh and his family must all leave," Karman said.
Soon after, riot police hurtled into the protests and forced the crowd to run. Four people were shot.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, whose principal spokesman is American-born Anwar al-Awlaki, has called on Yemen to join a jihad against Saleh. Gregory Johnsen, a former Fulbright fellow in Yemen, said al-Qaeda is telling Yemen that it is time to follow its path.
"Now, they will argue, is the time to do it right; to implement God's law and to return to the straight path," he said.
Protesters complain that the USA is not on their side.
"I want to know why the West does not support the people of Yemen," said Bilquis Al Lahaby, 39. "They support Saleh."
Calm in Bahrain
In Bahrain, host of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, a weekend of protests gave way to quiet as the military retreated from a square that was the scene of a bloody attack last week and allowed protesters to go back in. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, deputy supreme commander of the armed forces, appealed for political dialogue in an address on state TV.
"We are not refusing a dialogue with the crown prince, but we need guarantees they will back words with action," Abdul-Jalil Khalil, a leader of the main Shiite opposition group, Al Wefaq, said from Pearl Square.
He said the opposition's main demand is for the resignation of the government, including a prime minister — the king's uncle — who has been in his position for 40 years. They also want the government to address claims of discrimination and abuses against Shiites, who make up about 70% of Bahrain's 525,000 citizens.
In Bahrain's capital, Manama, the army attacked protesters who were marching on Friday from the funeral of a demonstrator, said Ali Saeed Abdul-Aziz, 23.
"I saw the front row of the protesters setting down facing the army and not moving while they were firing directly at them," he said. "Now I am so angry I want revenge."
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