Azerbaijan , Baku, Sept. 28 / Trend A. Isgandarov/
Tens of thousands of Yemenis protested in Sanaa on Wednesday against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's return from Saudi Arabia, while opposition tribesmen said they had downed a warplane outside the capital and captured its pilot, Reuters reported.
Waving flags and making peace signs, protesters fearing renewed stalemate after months of demonstrations seeking Saleh's removal marched out of "Change Square" shouting "Death, death."
"The point is, if we can't live a decent and dignified life, we'd rather die," said Khaled al-Mandi.
Yemeni protesters say they are fed up with grinding poverty, corruption and lawlessness in a country where two in three people have to survive on less than $2 per day.
Saleh's return has infuriated many Yemenis who thought they had seen the last of him when an attempt on his life in June forced him to fly to neighboring Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, but he defied the odds on Friday by landing in Sanaa "carrying the dove of peace and the olive branch."
Before his return, protesters trying to expand their ramshackle camp in Sanaa were caught up in a battle between Saleh's forces and soldiers loyal to a dissident general. At least 100 people, mainly protesters, were killed.
Since February, millions of Yemenis have been demanding the ouster of Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years. Yemeni security forces use their weapons to disperse the anti-government actions.