Thousands of Yemenis along with students and lawmakers have joined an anti-government rally near the Sana’a University campus to demand the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Sana’a has witnessed the continuation of protests and clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces during the past days, AFP reported Monday.
Yemeni protesters want an end to Saleh’s 32-year rule. Reports say government forces surrounded the area in an attempt to prevent the expansion of the rally.
The protesters are carrying banners which read; “People want change,” “People want to overthrow the regime” and “Leave”.
Yemen’s parliamentary opposition has vowed to join the street protests and rejected a call by Saleh for dialog, slamming the government for using force against demonstrators.
Saleh, however, said on Monday that he would leave the office only when he is defeated at the ballot box.
“If they want me to quit, I will only leave through the ballot box,” Saleh told a news conference as thousands of pro-democracy protesters call for his resignation.
Over a dozen protesters have so far been killed by the government loyalists and security forces across Yemen during eleven days of anti-government protests.
On Sunday, the loyalists to Saleh shot dead a pro-democracy protester and injured another in the southern city of Aden.
Police fired tear gas and bullets in order to disperse thousands of protesters demanding a change in leadership.
Security in Aden was stepped up on the tenth day of consecutive protests with tanks and armored vehicles out on main streets.
In the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a, police also fired shots at demonstrators.
Hasan Baoum, the leader of Yemen’s secessionist Southern Movement, was detained in an Aden hospital where he was receiving treatment, his son Fadi Hasan Baoum told reporters.
Thousands of people have also staged sit-ins in the cities of Ibb and Taiz, demanding the ouster of the US-backed president, who has ruled the country for 33 years.
President Saleh, however, has said he will only step down after his term ends in 2013.