Huge crowds in Sanaa and other Yemeni cities demanded on Friday that President Ali Abdullah Saleh leave after months of unrest that has brought the Arab world's poorest country close to economic meltdown. But in a defiant speech to thousands of flag-waving supporters in the Yemeni capital, Saleh declared: "We will confront a challenge with a challenge."
Three people were killed and 15 wounded when troops shot at protesters in Ibb, a city south of Sanaa, medics and witnesses said. Demonstrators then set fire to an armoured troop carrier. Gunfire wounded three protesters in Yemen's third city, Taiz. The latest killings pushed the overall death toll since protests began to at least 170, according to a Reuters tally.
Saleh, a wily political survivor, has clung to power despite defections from politicians, army officers and tribal leaders. Armoured vehicles, troops and even military academy students with batons deployed in Sanaa to contain a sea of protesters stretching seven km (four miles) down a main street in Sanaa.
"We are steadfast, you leader of the corrupt," anti-Saleh demonstrators chanted. "Peaceful, peaceful, no to civil war." Protesters in Sanaa, Ibb, Taiz and Hudaida held funeral processions for some of the 13 protesters killed on Wednesday. In Sanaa, six coffins were taken to graves strewn with red roses. Some protesters held signs saying: "We won't be silent over this regime's crimes. The blood of martyrs is not cheap."
In Ibb, several military policemen joined in a funeral procession for a man shot dead in Wednesday's unrest. Saleh, addressing his supporters, denounced opponents as saboteurs and said they should use the ballot box instead.
"You are not using the same restraint (as we have). We don't cut roads, we don't cut gas lines in Maarib - this is the property of the people," he said. "It is the people's wealth. They eat from it and drink from it. Stop playing with fire." The president's remarks suggested serious high-level concern about pipeline sabotage and economic damage from the conflict, earlier highlighted by two government ministers.
"If the problem persists, the government will be unable to meet the minimum needs of the citizens. The situation will pose a catastrophe beyond imagination," Oil Minister Amir al-Aidarous told parliament, according to the official news agency Saba. Saba quoted Trade and Tourism Minister Hisham Sharaf as saying the unrest, which began in late January, had cost Yemen $5 billion, or about 17 percent of 2009 gross domestic product.
International alarm has mounted over instability in Yemen, home to an ambitious wing of al Qaeda, whose leader has sworn vengeance for the killing by US forces of Osama bin Laden. "The United States is deeply concerned by recent violence throughout Yemen, and joins European Union High Representative (Catherine) Ashton in strongly condemning these troubling actions," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
Saleh offered a "constructive dialogue" with opposition parties, but did not promise to sign a Gulf Arab plan to which they have already agreed. Under the proposal, Saleh would step down in 30 days, rather than when his term ends in 2013. The deal mediated by the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) had angered many of the youthful protesters because it would shield Saleh and his entourage from prosecution.
The United States and its European allies urged all parties to sign and implement the agreement, but GCC member Qatar pulled out on Thursday, citing "stalling...and lack of wisdom". Shadi Hamid, director of the Brookings Doha Centre, said Qatar's move would make little difference. "The GCC fell short. They were not able to persuade Saleh to give up power, so I think we're back at square one now," he told Reuters.
Armed tribesmen killed three soldiers in an attack on an army vehicle. The soldiers were from a unit loyal to General Ali Mohsen, a kinsman of Saleh who has defected to the opposition. Many tribesmen have also deserted Saleh. Thousands from the formidable Kholan tribe, apparently not armed, joined the demonstration in Sanaa. "We will stand with the opposition and support it until the regime leaves," Sheikh Bakil al-Sufi, their leader, told protesters. "Say it loudly: victory or death."
In his sermon, cleric Mohammed al-Fashiq urged the military to stop obeying Saleh. "To all the army leaders and all those who stand with the tyrant, fear God and join the revolution." Tens of thousands of demonstrators tried to march on a presidential palace in the port city of Hudaida, but security forces blocked them, witnesses said. No clashes were reported. In Mukalla, one of 10 southern cities swept by protests, marchers chanted for Saleh's overthrow, rejecting negotiation.