President's vow to step down fails to quell Yemen protests

The anti-Saleh demonstration drew more than 20,000 people in Sana'a, the biggest crowd since a wave of protests hit the Arabian peninsula state two weeks ago, inspired by the toppling of Tunisia's ruler in a popular uprising.

"The people want regime change," anti-government protesters shouted as they gathered near Sana'a University, a main rallying point. "No to corruption, no to dictatorship!"

Mr Saleh, in power for 30 years but aware of the unrest spreading in the Arab world, indicated on Wednesday he would leave office when his term ends in two years' time. He pledged, among a host of other political concessions, that his son would not take over the reins of government.

Despite this, across Yemen yesterday, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets including in Taiz, where Mr Saleh once served as military governor, and in southern towns where a separatist movement has grown increasingly active.

However, analysts claim only the support of non-aligned Yemenis and young people disgruntled by low pay and rising unemployment could force Mr Saleh out immediately.

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Scuffles broke out in the southern port city of Aden when security forces dispersed a protest with tear gas, and two people were wounded. Hundreds of security men were active across the city, arresting 20 protesters, an opposition spokesman claimed.

Yemen's biggest opposition party, the Islamist Islah, welcomed Mr Saleh's initiative but snubbed a presidential appeal to end the demonstrations. But anti-government protesters appeared to lack consensus, with some calling for Mr Saleh to quit while others wanted him to prove he would act on his latest promises.

"What the president offered yesterday was just theatre. I don't trust him," a protester, Mahmoud Abdullah, said in Sana'a.

In most of the country, protests ended promptly at noon, with demonstrators dispersing quietly ahead of a customary break to chew qat, a narcotic leaf widely consumed in Yemen.

Should protests widen, the stakes would be high for Mr Saleh.

His country is on the brink of becoming a failed state, as it tries to fight a resurgent al-Qaeda wing, quell separatism in the south and cement peace with Shiite rebels in the north.

"The danger for the government is that all these different strands of opposition... coalesce not necessarily out of any sort of allegiance, but because they have the same political enemy. That becomes very dangerous for Saleh," said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen analyst at Princeton University.

Mr Saleh, a political survivor, has backed out of previous promises to step aside. Analysts say Wednesday's pledge could be a genuine way to exit gracefully but he may also hope to wait out regional unrest and reassert himself later.

Yemen's opposition coalition said it wanted assurances that reforms would be implemented, and demanded better living conditions for Yemenis, about 40 per cent of whom live on less than 1 a day, while a third suffer from malnutrition.

The US relies heavily on Mr Saleh to help combat al-Qaeda's Yemen-based arm, which also targets neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter. Instability in Yemen could also threaten other Gulf states.