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Apparently courage is contagious, and Northern African regimes plan to stop the spread in its tracks: Riot police have been deployed in the centre of the Algerian capital, Algiers, ahead of a planned anti-government rally. The government has banned the protest, but opposition and rights groups say they intend to go ahead with the march. Algeria – like other countries in the region – has recently witnessed demonstrations for greater freedoms. On Friday, police stopped people from gathering to celebrate the fall of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak. The BBC’s Chloe Arnold in Algiers say the authorities want to avert any popular uprising similar to those in Tunisia and Egypt. “We are ready for the march,” Mohsen Belabes, a spokesman for the small Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) opposition party, said. And in Yemen: (Sanaa) – Hundreds of men armed with knives, sticks, and assault rifles attacked anti-government protesters in Yemen’s capital , Sanaa, as Yemeni security forces stood by, Human Rights Watch said today. Within an hour, the 1,000-plus protesters had been pushed from the square and at least 10 had been detained by security forces, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch witnessed at least 10 army trucks carrying men in civilian clothing to Sanaa’s Tahrir Square, where a crowd of around 1,000 Yemenis had been demonstrating in support of the historic changes in Egypt and against the Yemeni government. Hundreds of men, their arrival coordinated by uniformed security agents, attacked the anti-government protesters with knives and sticks, prompting the majority to flee .