Rallies for and against Yemeni government expected Friday

Aug 26, 2011

Sana'a - Protestors from both sides were to take to the streets of Yemen Friday, with anti-government groups planning a 'Friday of Victory Promise,' and loyalists a 'Friday of Martyr.'

Two anti-regime protestors were wounded and five arrested late Thursday when police broke up a sit-in in the southern province of Taiz.

Yemen has been embroiled in political conflict since February when protests erupted around the country calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

The opposition formed an interim national council on August 17 seeking to prevent Saleh from resuming his presidential duties.

Saleh has been in Saudi Arabia for about two months, receiving treatment for injuries sustained in an attack on his palace on June 3, which left 12 dead and 87 wounded.

The president, who has been in power for 33 years, would return once the investigation into the attack was complete, government spokesman Abdu al-Janadi told reporters Thursday.

Also Thursday, the interim council in its second meeting called on Gulf Cooperation Council states and others to support the uprising, and not to collude with the regime's violence against its own people.

The council's statement urged the military to join the anti-Saleh movement.