Yemen on high alert ahead of presidential election

Yemen's security forces lifted alert level throughout the country on Friday in preparation for securing next week's presidential election, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said that security forces were increased around state and foreign facilities, and were directed to confiscate any firearm carried by citizens during those days. "The measures came as part of creating a secure atmosphere to succeed the polls slated for Feb. 21," the statement said. The Yemeni people are set to vote Tuesday to elect the only candidate Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as the new president to replace outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, under a UN-backed deal agreed by the ruling party and the opposition coalition. However, anti-election riots raged in the restive northern province of Saada and several southern cities, where thousands of northern Shiite rebels and southern pro-separatism activists rallied on Friday to call for boycotting the vote, claiming that the deal did not meet their aspirations. The polls will be watched by international observers, as Hadi promised to launch a national dialogue with the opposing groups to settle down differences after he takes power. Meanwhile, the cash-stripped government has also been facing severe security challenges with the rapid spread of al-Qaida militants in nearly all major provinces surrounding the capital Sanaa.