Reuters - Clashes erupted Sunday between Yemen security forces and anti-government protesters who tried to march on the presidential palace in Sanaa, witnesses said.
Shortly before the clashes, the opposition agreed to begin talks with Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh, who is trying to contain the wave of revolutions in the region.
"The Yemeni people want the fall of the regime", "the Yemeni revolution after the Egyptian revolution," chanted the protesters at the rally attended by 1,000 people.Some dozens of them are then posted to march on the presidential palace.
In early February, tens of thousands of people had "day of anger" organized by the opposition to demand a regime change.
Clashes broke out recently between supporters and opponents of the government.
According to opposition leaders, ten demonstrators were arrested in Sanaa, the capital, and 120 were detained for the night in the city of Taiz where authorities broke up a demonstration Saturday.
Four people were injured in Sanaa where the police beat protesters with sticks they threw stones, witnesses said.
Saleh, in power for over thirty years and fears the aftershocks of the unprecedented wave of protest that affects several countries of the Arab world, has pledged to leave office at the end of his term in 2013 and promised that his son will not head the government. He invited the opposition to the discussions.
"The opposition does not reject the invitation of the President and is ready to sign an agreement in less than a week," said former Foreign Minister, Mohammed Basindwa, now a member of the opposition.
The talks should be held under the auspices of the West or the Gulf, he added however.
Instability in Yemen could be a risk to political and security for the Gulf States.The United States also rely on Yemen to fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
