For some President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s expected return to Sanaa is seen as a long awaited homecoming of Yemen’s rightful ruler. For many, many others his expected return on Sunday is derided as the re-establishing of an unwanted dictator, propped up by foreign meddling, in particular by the US.

Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Sanaa on Friday calling for civil rule and putting an end of foreign interference in Yemen’s
political affairs.

Abdullah Murad, an anti government protester who participated in today’s protest told Global Post: “It’s a disgrace that the ruling family killed hundreds of unarmed peaceful protesters and the so-called US democracy is supporting the killers and ignoring the will of the people. We will not stop protesting until the oppressive military regime falls and civil law prevails after decades of oppression in Yemen.”

Yemen’s most powerful tribal leader, Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, head of Hashed tribe, accused the US ambassador in Sanaa of being “the real ruler in Yemen today” in a sign of discomfort at US intervention in Yemeni affairs, despite the demand of White House counter terrorism chief that Saleh step down.

It feels, and sounds, like something from a World War II thriller.

As Syria’s slow motion revolution grinds on and the military lays siege to key protest areas, the self-declared rebels of Zabadani, a picturesque mountain town, 40 km north-west of Damascus, have begun handing out leaflets instructing residents what to do in the event of their army invading.

“Recommendations of the rebels to the people in the event of an invasion of the Zabadani region,” starts the leaflet, written by members of the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), a grassroots opposition movement.

Residents must stock up on food, hide valuables and destroy any incriminating evidence of activities related to the uprising, says the leaflet, urging people to collect family members together while youth activists escape with enough supplies to survive for a few days in hiding.

“Any attempt to confront the army and prevent it from entering is useless,” read the leaflet. “Avoid provoking elements of the army and their thugs […] We must show solidarity and cohesion among us, and hide our fear. We do not accept humiliation. Our dignity and pride are the most precious thing we have. However, we recommend not to resist arrest and avoid direct confrontation and antagonism if possible.”

The US ambassador to Syria had a ringside view on Syria’s popular uprising today, watching from a hotel balcony as an estimated half a million residents of Hama flooded into a central square to chant for the downfall of the Assad regime.

Three separate sources in the city, all experienced activists, estimated the size of the crowd between 500,000 and 600,000 which, if confirmed, would make it the largest ever protest against the Assad family’s 41-year dictatorship.

Early videos out of Hama show two central squares thronged with people, the first around the clock tower and the second outside a municipal building.

In the absence of security forces, the massive gathering appeared to have an almost carnival-like atmosphere, with protestors carrying a giant Syrian flag extended for hundreds of meters through the centre of the city while the main clock tower has been draped in a purple banner reading, ““Long live free Syria. Down with Bashar al-Assad.”

SANA, the state-run news agency, criticized Ford for visiting Hama without authorization from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, saying the visit gave “clear evidence of the US involvement in the events taking place in Syria and its attempt to escalate the situation, which disturbs the security and stability of the country.”