Yemeni soldiers swap guns for brooms in a bid to clean the streets

Soldiers swapped their guns for brooms and students replaced the classroom for the Sanaa streets as they joined workers to clean the roads of the Yemeni capital.

Armed with brooms they swept pavements and roads, as traffic passed them by.

Their work is all part of a campaign to boost living conditions in the impoverished Arab country.

Yemen is struggling to stand on its own feet nearly a year after veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced to step down following protests that divided the poor Arabian Peninsula state and pushed it deeper into political and economic crisis.

Saleh’s successor Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who took office in February, is struggling to implement a power transfer deal while trying to patch up divisions in the army and fighting al-Qaeda in a U.S.-backed military campaign.

But despite the rocky road facing Yemenis, they came out in force to sweep the streets side by side.

Joining the army of volunteers was the city’s mayor, Abdul Khader Helal, “I salute the role of the cleaner, and we all came out together to be with them to show them that not only today on the 12th of the 12th, but for the whole year, and may god bless us all,” said Helal broom in hand.

Many Yemenis said they’re keen to continue with keeping the streets of their hometown in a good condition,“Our goal is to raise awareness about not just the work itself, 12/12 isn’t just about cleaning, and that’s it, that’s the end of the project. The idea is to raise awareness about the campaign, and God willing the idea will continue, it won’t just be for one day,” said local volunteer Sarah al-Awadi.

“The campaign honors all Yemenis and it especially honors the workers, especially the cleaners, and we hope it will be a national day,” added head cleaner, Mohammed Abdulla.

The campaign aims to promote better and cleaner living conditions among Yemenis and to make each individual have a sense of social responsibility.