Sana'a. .- Thousands of people demanded on Friday the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sana'a and other cities in Yemen after months of unrest that led to the poorest country in the Arab world to the brink of economic collapse. But in a defiant speech to thousands of supporters in the capital, Saleh said: "We will face a challenge with another challenge." Three people were killed and 15 wounded when troops fired on demonstrators in Ibb, a city south of Sanaa, witnesses and medics said.
The protestors burned an armored vehicle. Three other protesters were injured in Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, by gunfire. The latest deaths brought the total death toll since the start of the uprising to at least 170, according to a Reuters count. Saleh, a wily political survivor, has survived in office despite the defections of senior officials, army officers and tribal leaders.
The government deployed armored vehicles, soldiers and even military academy students with batons to contain a wave of protests that spread over 7 km on a downtown street in Sana'a. "We are steadfast, corrupt leader," protesters chanted. "Peace, peace, not civil war" was another slogan.
Protesters in Sana'a, Ibb, Taiz and Hudaida conducted funeral processions for some 13 people killed on Wednesday. In Sanaa, the crowd was carrying six coffins into graves adorned with red roses. Some protesters had signs that said: "We will not be silent over the crimes of this regime. The blood of martyrs is not free." In Ibb, several military policemen joined a procession for a man killed in the riots on Wednesday.
In a message to his supporters, Saleh denounced his opponents as saboteurs and said he must resort to the polls. "You do not exercise the same restraint (to us). We do not cut routes, cut no gas lines in Maarib, that is owned by the people," he said. "It's the people's wealth. They eat it and take it.
Stop playing with fire," he said. The president's comments suggested the great concern in the Government by the sabotage of pipelines and economic damage created by the conflict, which was highlighted by two ministers earlier. Mediation Agreement "If the problem persists, the Government may not meet the minimum needs of citizens.
The situation will cause an unimaginable catastrophe," said Energy Minister Amir al-Aidarous, Parliament, according to the agency official Saba news. Saba quoted the Minister of Trade and Tourism, Hisham Sharaf, saying the revolt, which began in late January, Yemen cost U.S. $ 5,000 million, or about 17 percent of gross domestic product in 2009.
The world has lit a warning about the instability in the country, home to an ambitious branch of al Qaeda, whose supporters vowed revenge for the death of its leader Osama bin Laden in an operation by U.S. forces. "America is deeply concerned by the recent violence across Yemen and joins the High Representative of the European Union (Catherine) in strongly condemning these actions disturbing," said State Department spokesman, Mark Toner.
Saleh gave a "constructive dialogue" with opposition parties, but promised to sign a plan of the Persian Gulf that had previously accepted. The agreement provides that the president must leave office in 30 days, rather than late 2013, when his term ends. The plan mediated by the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC for its acronym in English) angered many young protesters because grant legal immunity to Saleh and his environment.
United States and its European allies urged all parties to sign and implement the agreement. However, the GCC member of Qatar withdrew on Thursday citing "stagnation and lack of wisdom." Tens of thousands of protesters tried to march toward the presidential palace in the port city of Hudaida, but security forces blocked their path, witnesses said.
There were no clashes. In Mukalla, one of the 10 southern cities shaken by the protests, the demonstrators demanded the fall of Saleh, rejecting negotiations. 
The protestors burned an armored vehicle. Three other protesters were injured in Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, by gunfire. The latest deaths brought the total death toll since the start of the uprising to at least 170, according to a Reuters count. Saleh, a wily political survivor, has survived in office despite the defections of senior officials, army officers and tribal leaders.
The government deployed armored vehicles, soldiers and even military academy students with batons to contain a wave of protests that spread over 7 km on a downtown street in Sana'a. "We are steadfast, corrupt leader," protesters chanted. "Peace, peace, not civil war" was another slogan.
Protesters in Sana'a, Ibb, Taiz and Hudaida conducted funeral processions for some 13 people killed on Wednesday. In Sanaa, the crowd was carrying six coffins into graves adorned with red roses. Some protesters had signs that said: "We will not be silent over the crimes of this regime. The blood of martyrs is not free." In Ibb, several military policemen joined a procession for a man killed in the riots on Wednesday.
In a message to his supporters, Saleh denounced his opponents as saboteurs and said he must resort to the polls. "You do not exercise the same restraint (to us). We do not cut routes, cut no gas lines in Maarib, that is owned by the people," he said. "It's the people's wealth. They eat it and take it.
Stop playing with fire," he said. The president's comments suggested the great concern in the Government by the sabotage of pipelines and economic damage created by the conflict, which was highlighted by two ministers earlier. Mediation Agreement "If the problem persists, the Government may not meet the minimum needs of citizens.
The situation will cause an unimaginable catastrophe," said Energy Minister Amir al-Aidarous, Parliament, according to the agency official Saba news. Saba quoted the Minister of Trade and Tourism, Hisham Sharaf, saying the revolt, which began in late January, Yemen cost U.S. $ 5,000 million, or about 17 percent of gross domestic product in 2009.
The world has lit a warning about the instability in the country, home to an ambitious branch of al Qaeda, whose supporters vowed revenge for the death of its leader Osama bin Laden in an operation by U.S. forces. "America is deeply concerned by the recent violence across Yemen and joins the High Representative of the European Union (Catherine) in strongly condemning these actions disturbing," said State Department spokesman, Mark Toner.
Saleh gave a "constructive dialogue" with opposition parties, but promised to sign a plan of the Persian Gulf that had previously accepted. The agreement provides that the president must leave office in 30 days, rather than late 2013, when his term ends. The plan mediated by the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC for its acronym in English) angered many young protesters because grant legal immunity to Saleh and his environment.
United States and its European allies urged all parties to sign and implement the agreement. However, the GCC member of Qatar withdrew on Thursday citing "stagnation and lack of wisdom." Tens of thousands of protesters tried to march toward the presidential palace in the port city of Hudaida, but security forces blocked their path, witnesses said.
There were no clashes. In Mukalla, one of the 10 southern cities shaken by the protests, the demonstrators demanded the fall of Saleh, rejecting negotiations.
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