Hundreds of protesters in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, had tried to reach the Egyptian embassy on Saturday.
The ouster of Mubarak after an 18-day uprising raised questions about the long-term stability of Yemen and other Western-allied governments in the region. President
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
of Yemen has been in power for three decades and tried to blunt unrest by promising not to run again.
Witnesses say several thousand protesters were driven out of Sanaa's main square by troops and plainclothes security agents on Friday night.
The scuffles came hours after government supporters forced around 300 protesters assembled at Sanaa University to quit a demonstration. As numbers swelled into the thousands, they began marching toward the Egyptian Embassy.
"The people want the fall of the government," protesters chanted. "A Yemeni revolution after the Egyptian revolution."
But a group of government supporters confronted the protesters. Scuffles broke out and the pro-government activists used traditional knives and batons to force the protesters to flee.
Two people were lightly injured, witnesses said.
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh, eyeing protests in the Arab world, has promised to step down when his term ends in 2013 in a major concession to opponents in the Arabian Peninsula state, a key US ally against Al-Qaeda.
He also promised not to pass power to his son.
His move followed sporadic anti-government protests, and the opposition has yet to respond to his call to join a unity government. The opposition wants talks to take place under Western or Gulf Arab auspices.
On Friday night, Yemeni authorities jugged at least 10 people after anti-government protesters in Sanaa celebrated Mubarak's downfall, US-based Human Rights Watch said.
The group said the celebrations turned to festivities when hundreds of men armed with knives, sticks, and assault rifles attacked the protesters as security forces stood by.
"The Yemeni security forces have a duty to protect peaceful protesters," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "In this case, security forces seem to have organized gunnies to attack the protesters."
There was no response from the government, which said on Saturday that it respected the choice of the Egyptian people.