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| Supporters of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh demonstrate in Sanaa yesterday |
In Sanaa, anti-Saleh protesters joined weekly prayers at Sitin Street and called for an end to the rule of Saleh who has been recovering in Saudi Arabia since a bomb attack in early June.
“O Allah, as you bestowed victory upon our brothers in Libya, bless us with victory,” said the imam who led prayers.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters also gathered in Taez, Yemen’s second largest city and a protest hotspot. Other demonstrations were held in Al Bayda, Hudayda and other towns, witnesses said.
Meanwhile, thousands of Saleh loyalists rallied at Sanaa’s Sabeen Square in support of the president, calling for his return to the impoverished nation which has been the scene of deadly protests since January.
Saleh vowed earlier this month to return to Yemen.
Despite his absence, Saleh has not transferred power to his Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and his family members who lead strong army and security forces appear to be running Yemen.
The army killed three armed men suspected of being Al Qaeda militants in clashes in the country’s southern flashpoint province of Abyan, the interior ministry said yesterday.
Islamist militants, which the government says are part of the Al Qaeda arm based in Yemen, have taken over at least three southern towns in recent months, including a provincial capital, while protests against Saleh drag on.
Earlier this week, 11 Yemeni soldiers and 39 suspected Islamist militants were killed in some of the worst violence to grip the volatile south since mass unrest against Saleh’s 33-year rule began.