Thousands join rival Yemen protests

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis have converged in the capital for rival demonstrations, with some demanding the president's removal and others showing their support.

Police and army units were deployed in Sanaa to prevent clashes between the two sides.

More than 120 people have been killed since Yemen's protests calling for the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh began on February 11, inspired by popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Addressing tens of thousands of supporters, Saleh rejected a mediation offer from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council that calls on him to hand power to his deputy in return for immunity from prosecution for him and his family. He lashed out at Qatar for instigating the proposal, as well as for the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network's coverage of the unrest in his country.

"We derive our authority and legitimacy from you and not from Qatar's or other officials or from what Al-Jazeera says," Saleh said.

The demonstration in favour of Saleh's removal appeared to be larger. Hammoud al-Hetar, who resigned as Yemen's religious endowments and guidance minister last month, told the crowd before noon prayer that the youth revolution is peaceful with the aim to "establish a civil state that respects human rights, observes equal citizens' rights".

Mr al-Hetar disputed the government's contention that Yemen's branch of al Qaida would control the country if the president stepped down. He claimed the terrorist group's presence in the country "is less than 10% of what the government media used to portray it".

"The threats against al Qaida have been exaggerated by the government media because the officials want to get money in the name of fighting terrorism," he said.

Mr al-Hetar said that the coming government "rejects terrorism and extremism and will strongly fight it while establishing better relations with all the countries and respect international laws and treaties".

Yemen is wracked by a tribal rebellion in the north, a separatist movement in the south and the presence of an al-Qaida affiliate operating in the remote mountainous hinterlands.

Saleh, Yemen's leader for the last 30 years, has been a US ally in the fight against al Qaida, but there are signs he is losing American support.

The president has offered to step down at the end of this year if a transfer of power acceptable to him is reached, but the opposition fears he is stalling for time.

Violence again broke out in the southern Yemeni town of Taiz, where thousands of protesters marched in a burial procession carrying the coffins of several people killed during a demonstration last week.

Two people were shot and seriously wounded in today's violence, and many others suffered breathing problems after police fired tear gas, witnesses said.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters in 13 other provinces in Yemen also demanded that Saleh leave office after more than 30 years in power in this impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula.

The only significant pro-government demonstration was in Sanaa. Yemen's central government is weak, relies on the support of the powerful tribes and is widely seen as riddled with corruption.

Saleh lashed out against the mediation offer by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which invited Saleh and the opposition to a mediation session in Saudi Arabia.

The council includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, but it was Qatar and the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network that Saleh singled out in his criticism. Earlier this week, Qatar's prime minister Sheik Hamed bin Jassem told reporters that "we hope to reach an agreement that includes the resignation" of Saleh.

In a statement, the Yemen presidential palace said that Saleh welcomed "the good intentioned efforts that our brothers in the GCC are making to solve the crisis, particularly Saudi Arabia", which has long been an important ally for the Yemeni president. But it said he rejected Sheik Hamed's comments as "interference" in Yemen's affairs.