[Yemen Post] More than three million anti regime supporters gathered in at least 16 provinces demanding the fall of President-for-Life Saleh's... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence...
regime. In what was called the "Friday of Insistence" opposition leaders joined youth protesters demanding the president to withdraw from power within one week. "Saleh's options are very limited and we now announce a one week deadline for him to resign from presidency before he is brought down," said Yaseen Noman, the president of Yemen's opposition coalition the Joint Meeting Parties, JMP.
Just fives miles away, for the fifth consecutive Friday, President Saleh supporters flooded Sabeen Square of the capital Sanaa in what the government called the "Friday of Dialogue" as more than half a million arrived to show thier support for the president. "We will be loyal to our president in all circumstances. Saleh will never be replaced by a group of gangs from the opposition," said Abdul Saboor al-Karami, a Saleh follower who drove seven hours to participate in the Saleh rally.
Sanaa and Taiz by far had the highest number of anti government protesters with each fetching more the 800,000. "Victory is near for our revolution. We are today witnessing the end of Saleh's dictatorship era," said Ali Karamah, a tribal leader in Jawf said. "We will not forgive him for his crimes against our youth and he will face a worser ending than Mubarak."
The funeral for Colonel Abdullah Sharabi took place in Sanaa after he was killed in festivities with government forces on Wednesday. "The colonel is the first military personnal to be killed and he will be remembered for his courage in the revolution,"said youth leader Riydh Abdo.
Anti Saleh protests also took place in the provinces of Ibb, Hodieda, Dhammar, Baitha, Shabwa, Hadramout, Hajjah, Socotra, Jawf, Mareb, Abyan, Thale, Lahj, Saada, and Mahweet.