Saleh swears he will stay

Hundreds of thousands of rival demonstaters gathered in the Yemeni capital on Friday. Addressing his supporters President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would “stand firm” in the face of anti-regime protests and only hand over power to “honest” and “capable hands”.

Reuters

Wearing a suit and sunglasses Saleh told supporters that he would remain “steadfast in the face of all challenges” during the demonstration he dubbed “Friday of Tolerance”.

He said protesters were “ruining every aspect of life” in Yemen and were power hungry and unpatriotic. He added that the leadership was not seeking power but was ready to give it up as long as it did not end up in “malicious hands”.

At a square near Sanaa University hundreds of thousands rival anti-regime protesters also gathered on Friday.

Separate checkpoints had been set up by the square by the army and opposition activists, searching people entering and leaving the protest site.

Saleh had told a meeting of army and police officers during a meeting broadcast on state television late on Thursday that they were “determined to preserve the security, independence and stability” of the country by “all possible means”.

Last Friday 52 protesters were killed by security forces loyal to Saleh.