Seven members of the Yemeni parliament resigned Wednesday, calling on the president to step down and denouncing how the government has treated protestors in the country's capital.

The MPs, or members of president Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling GPC party, said Yemenis have the right to demonstrate peacefully. At least one person was killed and 12 others wounded late Tuesday, after Saleh supporters tried to break up a protest in the capital city of Sana'a, the AP reported.

Thursday morning, Saleh called for protection for the protestors, ordering his security forces to "thwart all clashes and prevent direct confrontation between pro- and anti-government protestors." 

Saleh announced Feb. 3 that he won't run for re-election in 2013.He also promised not to hand power over to his son.

"No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock," Saleh said.

But a burgeoning protest movement is demanding he step down now. 

Protestors are also demanding economic reform and an end to corruption. Yemenis complain of growing poverty in a population that's disproportionately young, and the frustration of limited political freedom. The country is the poorest country in the Arab world and is a hotbed for terrorist groups.

Yemen's protests bring it into the fold of Middle Eastern political unrest, following the ousting of the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents. The large-scale protests began in January, but conflicts have flared with Shi'a tribes in the north.

In the south, a succession movement continues to threaten the country's stability and the U.S. continues to be concerned with the growing strength of Al-Qaeda in that region.

"This is not about individual leaders, it's not about personalities, and our position has never been... that we should be selecting the leaders or deciding who can or cannot lead a country," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. "The process is what's important." 

But Carney stressed that "the need for reform is paramount."

The government in Yemen was weak before the protests began. President Saleh is the country's first and only president. He came to power in 1978 after two decades of violence, famine and civil war, after the two presidents who proceeded him were assassinated. The British Empire withdrew from then-Southern Yemen in 1967, but the country didn't unite until 1990 as the Republic of Yemen. 

Saleh has traditionally relied heavily on the patronage system to maintain power. 

The United States has given Yemen more than $250 million in military aid since 2006, and the countries' relationship centers around preventing the spread of terrorists.

Saleh pledged to fight terrorism after 9/11, but those efforts have been hampered by a corrupt and ineffective government.  The International 2010 Corruption Index rates Yemen a 146, equivalent with Iran and Libya and higher than any other country in the Middle East.

In 2000, members of Al-Qaeda blew a hole in the American destroyer Cole, killing 17, and the 23-year-old Nigerian man who tried to bomb a Detroit-bound jet on Christmas Day 2009 claimed to have been trained by Al Qaeda operatives there. 

"The people want the downfall of the regime," students chanted as they marched through the streets of al-Mukalla in eastern Yemen. Some set fire to a government care and threw stones at policemen. 

During the protests, U.S. and British envoys have expressed concerns over "unjustified violence" against the protestors. According to eyewitness reports, pro-government forces have clubbed and shot at protestors camping in a square near Sanaa University, and policemen have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds.

"The United States condemns the use of violence by governments against peaceful protesters in those countries, and wherever else it may occur," President Barack Obama said in a statement Friday. "The United States urges the governments of Bahrain, Libya and Yemen to show restraint in responding to peaceful protests and to respect the rights of their people."

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been in Yemen since 1953. They're now working there to help Saleh's camp govern democratically, create economic opportunities, stabilize healthcare and education and increase peace and security.

Yemen faces a 35 percent unemployment rate, and almost half the country lives below the poverty line. 

Petroleum is Yemen's main source of income, but the country's supply of oil is dwindling. An economic reform program started in 2006 is aimed at boosting additional exports, like crude oil, coffee, liquified natural gas and dried fish. The country's main trading partners are China, Thailand and India. 

To reach Senior Staff Reporter Laura J. Nelson, click here. Or follow her on Twitter: @laura_nelson.