Yemenis Protest in Qaida-held City

Hundreds of people demonstrated on Monday in Mukalla to demand the withdrawal of al-Qaida fighters who overran Yemen's southeastern coastal city months ago, witnesses said.

"Leave our city!" chanted demonstrators marching through the center of Hadramawt's provincial capital ahead of a rally in al-Hureiya Square, witnesses said.

Militants from al-Qaida deployed in the city and also set up checkpoints, but did not intervene to confront protesters.

"Al-Qaida controls everything and has made the people's lives hell," said Sabri Makhashin, one of the protest organizers.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, has seized large parts of Hadramawt province and imposed a strict version of sharia, Islamic law.

The group has executed or lashed those it accused of "crimes" including homosexuality and sorcery.

Those accused of theft have their hands cut off.

The United States considers AQAP to be the most dangerous affiliate of the jihadist network.

It is active across several parts of Yemen, after exploiting the collapse of central authority during a 2011 uprising that ousted veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh.