©AFP / Ahmad Gharabli
Anti-regime protesters have been camped in a square near Sanaa University since February 21
Anti-regime protesters poured into a square near Sanaa University where they have been camped since February 21, as regime loyalists crowded a nearby square in response to a call from the longtime president.
"The people want Ali Abdullah Saleh," his supporters shouted, according to AFP correspondents who put the number of protesters at both the pro- and anti-regime demonstrations at hundreds of thousands.
The army and opposition activists set up separate checkpoints at entrances to the square near the university, searching people entering and leaving the epicentre of the revolt against Saleh's three-decade rule.
Ahead of the demonstrations kicking off after midday prayers on the Muslim weekly day of rest, the police also set up checkpoints leading to the venue of the loyalist protest, some four kilometres (2.5 miles) away.
©AFPTV
VIDEO: Yemen opposition eyes transition as tensions rise. Duration: 00:57
"We are determined to preserve the security, independence and stability of Yemen by all possible means," he told army and police officers at a meeting broadcast on state television late on Thursday.
Deserted by long-time military, political, tribal and clerical backers, Saleh has dubbed the show of solidarity a "Friday of Tolerance," countering the pro-change slogans of demonstrators around the Arab world.
Amid fears of a possible repeat of the previous Friday when 52 demonstrators were gunned down by regime loyalists, Amnesty International warned the government against any renewed use of "deadly force."
"The Yemeni authorities must stop security forces from using unwarranted deadly force and heavy-handed tactics," said the rights watchdog.
©AFP / Ahmad Gharabli
Yemeni anti-government protesters pray during a demonstration against President Ali Abdullah Saleh
"After the horrific killing of dozens of protesters last Friday, it is incredibly disturbing that Yemen's leaders have given the security forces more powers through a new emergency law instead of reigning them in."
On Wednesday, parliament voted for a state of emergency declared by Saleh just hours after the Sanaa bloodbath. In theory, the measure outlaws demonstrations and would allow the regime to gag the media.
The opposition has said it will hold off until the following Friday, April 1, to march on the presidential palace for what many fear could prove a bloody final showdown.
Saleh has offered his foes a deal on forming a unity government, drawing up a new electoral law, holding a legislative poll, and his successor to be named by the end of 2011 by newly elected MPs.
Under the weight of protests, which Amnesty said has cost 95 lives in clashes with security forces, the president is offering to step down 20 months earlier than September 2013 when his latest seven-year term comes to a close.
But opposition sources say the time for concessions from Saleh is over and that behind-the-scenes consultations have been taking place for a peaceful transition of power.
©AFP / Ahmad Gharabli
A Yemeni soldier is carried by protesters after joining the demonstration against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa
Britain and Germany, fearing more violence to come, Britain and Germany have announced the evacuation of most staff from their Sanaa embassies and pressed any of their nationals still in capital to leave.
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