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Yemenis rally to up pressure on Saleh

Arab World Materials 2 September 2011 23:47 (UTC +04:00)

Thousands of Yemenis protested Friday across the country, stepping up pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, DPA reported.

The protesters rallied in 17 provinces of the country, denouncing Saleh's recent suggestion for early presidential election as a fresh ploy to keep power.

The Sana'a-based Media Centre for the Revolutionary Youth that called for Friday's protests, said in a statement: "The decisive moment for the revolution has come to unseat the ruling gang who refuses to bow to the will of the people."

Also on Friday, Saleh's loyalists gathered in the capital Sana'a to show support for Saleh who has been in power for 32 years.

No clashes were reported during the rival protests, the latest since political turmoil in Yemen started in February.

Saleh is currently in the Saudi capital Riyadh recovering from injuries he sustained from an attack on his presidential palace in Sana'a in June.

Last week, he promised to hold early presidential elections, but did not specify a date or say if he would be running.

Government officials have said that Saleh will return to Yemen as soon as investigations into the attack on his palace are complete.

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