From Iran to Senegal, protests dominate

As thousands of Egyptians packed Cairo's Tahrir Square to celebrate the one-week anniversary of former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, protests they helped inspire continued to rage throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Violent clashes between anti-government demonstrators and security forces broke out in Bahrain, Yemen and Jordan Friday; In Senegal, a man in a military uniform set himself on fire near the presidential palace; In the tiny East African nation of Djibouti, thousands gathered calling for their president to step down; Iraqis protested for better public services and jobs; And in Iran and Libya, pro-government rallies were held in contrast to recent opposition demonstrations:

Complete Coverage: Anger in the Arab World
Obama condemns violence in the Middle East

Bahrain protesters clash with soldiers

Soldiers fired tear gas and shot heavy weapons into the air as thousands of protest marchers defied a government ban and streamed toward the landmark square that had been the symbolic center of the uprising against the Gulf nation's leaders.

According a CNN report, an ambulance worker said that at least four people were killed in the clashes. Other hospital officials said at least 20 people were injured, some seriously.

An Associated Press cameraman saw army units shooting anti-aircraft weapons above the protesters in apparent warning shots and attempts to drive them back from security cordons about 200 yards from the square.

The clash came just hours after funeral mourners and worshippers at Friday prayers called for the toppling of the Western-allied monarchy in the tiny island nation that is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

The cries against the king and his inner circle - at a main Shiite mosque and at burials for those killed in Thursday's crushing attack - reflect an important escalation of the political uprising, which began with calls to weaken the Sunni monarchy's power and address claims of discrimination against the Shiite majority in the tiny island nation.

The mood, however, appears to have turned toward defiance of the entire ruling system after the brutal crackdown on a protest encampment in Bahrain's capital, Manama, which left at least five dead, more than 230 injured and put the nation under emergency-style footing with military forces in key areas and checkpoints on main roads.

Yemen's "Friday of Rage"

Anti-government demonstrators clashed with supporters of Yemen's longtime ruler and riot police, who fired tear gas and shots in the air to disperse the crowd on what organizers called a "Friday of Rage" across the country. Three people were killed by police in the port of Aden and 48 were wounded in the southern city of Taiz when someone threw what appeared to be a hand grenade into a crowd, witnesses said.

It was the ninth straight day of protests in Yemen inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Demonstrators in the Arab world's poorest country are calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh - a key U.S. ally in fighting al Qaeda terrorists - who has ruled the country for 32 years.

Saleh is already facing a restless population, with threats from al Qaeda militants saying they want to oust him, a southern secessionist movement and an on-and-off armed rebellion in the north.

To try to quell the new outbursts of dissent, Saleh pledged to meet some of the protesters' demands and has reached out to tribal chiefs, who present a major base of support for him. But a major chief from Saleh's own tribe was critical of his policies and threatened to join the protesters - an apparent attempt to put pressure on the embattled leader.

For now, most of the protesters are made up of students, educated professionals and activists who used social media sites Facebook and Twitter in summoning people to the streets for the "Friday of Rage" following noon prayers. Tens of tens of thousands responded in the capital of Sanaa, the southern port of Aden and the political hotbed of Taiz. Some websites also referred to the day as "Friday of the Beginning."

Jordanian protests enter 7th day

Clashes broke out Friday in Jordan's capital between government supporters and opponents at a protest calling for more freedom and lower food prices, injuring eight.

It was the seventh straight Friday that Jordanians, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, took to the streets to demand more say in decision-making.

The Amman protest drew about 2,000 people, including hard-line leftists, Muslim conservatives and students calling for reduced power for the king and the chance to elect members of the Cabinet.

Students from the growing "Jaayin" or "I'm Coming" movement chanted: "We want constitutional reforms. We want a complete change to policies."

Jordan's king enjoys absolute powers, ruling by decree and he can appoint and dismiss Cabinets and parliament whenever he wants.

"We want a complete overhaul of the political system, including the constitution, the parliament dissolved and new free and fair elections held," said movement member and teacher Amani Ghoul, insisting the protests will continue until their demands are met.

Activists such as Bashar Shahaatreh are demanding that Jordanians be able to elect their prime minister and Cabinet officials.

"There is no difference between this new prime minister and Cabinet appointed last week from the old one that was dismissed," he complained. He said high-level graft and corruption needed to be tackled.

About 200 government supporters trailed the protesters, chanting: "Our blood and souls, we sacrifice for you Abu Hussein" - a reference to Jordan's King Abdullah II - before clashing with the opposition march.

"They beat us with batons, pipes and hurled rocks at us," said Tareq Kmeil, a student at the protest. "We tried to defend ourselves, to beat them back."

He said at least eight people suffered fractures to the skull, arms or legs.

"Police didn't do anything to protect us," he said. "Police forces just stood on the side watching us getting beaten."

Police spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.

Libya deploys security forces, warns restive citizens

Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya deployed security forces throughout the restive country and bluntly warned citizens Friday against joining the unrest in which dozens of protesters have been killed.

Demonstrations against Gadhafi's rule have erupted in several Libyan cities this week, especially in the east, and the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said that 24 people died in unrest Wednesday and Thursday. But a hospital official in the eastern city of Beyida told The Associated Press on Friday that the bodies of at least 23 slain protesters were at his facility, which was treating about 500 wounded - some in the parking lot for lack of beds.

"We need doctors, medicine and everything," he said.

The wave of pro-democracy protest that has swept across the Middle East has brought unprecedented pressure on leaders like Gadhafi, who have held virtually unchecked power for decades.

The man who has controlled Libya since 1969 rode in a motorcade through the nation's capital of Tripoli on Thursday and, according to eyewitnesses, also sent out forces that included dark-skinned, French-speaking fighters. Like the hospital official, the witnesses spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Witnesses in Beyida and Zentan, 75 miles south of Tripoli, said "special militia" units called Khamis Brigades were deployed in their cities.

In Beyida, local police - who are in the same tribe as residents - allied with protesters and prevented attacks from the militia, according to a witness and Mohammed Ali Abdullah, deputy leader of the exiled National Front for the Salvation of Libya.

Iranian pro-government protesters seek execution of opposition leaders

Thousands of Iranian government supporters called for the execution of opposition leaders at a prayer service Friday in response to anti-government demonstrations earlier in the week. Authorities, meanwhile, appeared to tighten restrictions on one of the leaders under house arrest.

Hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said during the service in Tehran that the opposition leaders have lost their reputation among people and are practically "dead and executed," while worshippers chanted for their actual executions.

Jannati proposed more restrictions on Mir Hossein Mousavi on Mahdi Karroubi, who are both under house arrest but still managed to organize the largest opposition protest in more than a year on Monday.

"Their communications with people should be completely cut. They should not be able to receive and send messages. Their phone lines and Internet should be cut. They should be prisoners in their homes," he said.

Authorities appeared to be acting to further isolate Mousavi.

An opposition website reported Friday that a new deployment of government guards appeared outside Mousavi's house and have stopped his three daughters from visiting or contacting their parents since Wednesday. The website, kaleme.com, said the new guards were wearing masks and were closely monitoring people near the house.

The report said the guards belonged to the prosecutor's office.

Iraqis blockade bridge in Basra

Iraqis demanding better public services, jobs and pensions blocked a bridge Friday in the southern oil hub of Basra, as spreading Middle East unrest emboldens Iraqis to take on government officials over poor living standards.

In the wake of the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, frustrated Iraqis have staged repeated protests across the country. This week, at least five people were killed when demonstrations in two Iraqi cities turned violent.

About 1,000 people rallied Friday in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, to demand the resignation of the provincial governor, who they say has failed to boost the quality of life even as security improves.

The city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, is a microcosm of postwar Iraq's many woes.

"We're living in miserable conditions - no electricity, dirty, muddy streets. We have to make changes. We should not be silent," said one of the protesters, Qais Jabbar. The 32-year-old father of three said despite a college degree, he works as a taxi driver and shares a small house with his three brothers and their families in eastern Basra.

Basra is the hub of the oil industry in a country that has some of the largest oil reserves in the world. But little of that wealth has trickled down to the city's people.

Senegalese man sets himself on fire

A man set himself on fire in front of the presidential palace in Senegal on Friday, the latest self-immolation on the African continent.

Witnesses said the man stood on the sidewalk and doused himself with paint thinner, though others said it was gasoline. It was not immediately clear why he set himself alight, but Abdoulaye Loum, who was standing at a bus stop nearby when the incident occurred, said the man was holding a piece of paper in his hand which he held up as the flames swallowed him.

The man collapsed to the ground and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

A private radio station said the man was a soldier and that he was wearing his military fatigues when he set himself on fire.

This self-immolation comes on the heels of similar protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Senegal's neighbor to the north, Mauritania.

Tunisia's mutiny that ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was touched off by a struggling 26-year-old university graduate who lit himself on fire after police confiscated his fruit and vegetable cart in December. Other self-immolations then quickly spread elsewhere in northern Africa and the Middle East.

Djibouti protesters seek president's ouster

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the tiny East African nation of Djibouti on Friday to demand that the president step down after two terms, the latest in a series of rallies modeled after political demonstrations across Africa and the Middle East.

President Ismail Omar Guelleh has served two terms and faces an election in April, but critics lament changes he made to the constitution last year that scrubbed a two-term limit from the nation's bylaws. Guelleh's family has been in power for more than three decades.

Djibouti is a city-state of 750,000 people that lies across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen. It hosts several military bases, including the only U.S. base in Africa.

Guelleh, who looks poised to win re-election, didn't face any opponents in 2005. One potential challenger this year, Abdourahman Boreh, is supporting the series of anti-Guelleh demonstrations but lives overseas and is currently in London.

Boreh, 51, said that if he returned to Djibouti he would be thrown in prison and possibly tortured. He said Friday's rally was attended by thousands and was peaceful in the early goings. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators earlier in February.

"In the wake of events like Tunisia and Egypt the president's instinct will almost certainly lead him to violence to counter the rising confidence of the demonstrators," Boreh said. "What we really want is a peaceful demonstration where the people can express their feelings for freedom, their feelings for a democratic transition of the government, because this government has been in power for the last 34 years. The people want change."