In Sanaa, hundreds of activists chanted anti-US slogans and marched toward the Iraqi embassy before calling in a written statement for the "explusion of the American and British ambassadors and the severing of diplomatic relations with Washington and London."

In the communique addressed to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the protesters also called for "a boycott of American and British products and the maintenance of humanitarian aid to the people of Iraq" during the US-British offensive.

The activists brought banners reading "America is the mother of terrorism," "Hezbollah (Lebanese Shiite guerrillas), destroy Israel," "From Sanaa to Baghdad, open the door to jihad," and "Death to Israel, death to America".

In the province of Taez, thousands of protesters issued their own call to eject the US and British envoys and shouted anti-American rallying cries.

"No to aggression, death to America and its agents," the crowd chanted, marching to a local cemetery.

"The dead may be able to appreciate our sacrifice, it is the living (authorities) who are unable to," a demonstrator who asked not to be named told AFP, explaining why the group had chosen the site for its rally.

Separately, the Yemeni consultative council, the Majlis Al-Shura, condemned the US-led campaign against Iraq and "their recourse to methods of genocide and destruction" against the Iraqi people, in a statement issued Wednesday.

SPACE.WIRE