Huge protest gathers in Yemen to demand Saleh’s ouster

But the president’s allies say he could return within days and have been resisting US and Saudi pressure to start now on a handover of power. Saleh, who has ruled for nearly 33 years, has held out against a wave of daily protests since late January demanding his removal, throwing the country into turmoil. Before he was wounded, opposition tribesmen rose up and battled for two weeks with government forces in fighting that shook the capital.

The United States fears that the impoverished country’s power vacuum will give even freer rein to Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, which Washington believes is the terror network’s most active franchise. Already, Islamic militants — some suspected of ties to Al Qaeda — have taken control of at least two areas in the restive south, a provincial capital, Zinjibar, and the nearby town Jaar.

Yesterday morning, warplanes hit militant positions north of Jaar, witnesses and security officials said. They said there were casualties but the number was not known. The night before, troops used artillery to attack other militant positions near the town, killing at least six militants, according to medical officials. The medical and security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

In Sana’s Taghyeer (Change) Square yesterday, the crowds of protesters demanded that the vice president — who is acting leader in Saleh’s absence — allow the creation of a new government. “The people want a transitional government,’’ they chanted.

The opposition tribesmen marched through the square with the bodies of 41 of their fighters they say were killed a week ago when troops bombarded the Sana home of one of their leaders. The tribe’s chief, Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, led the march of around 10,000 people from the square to a cemetery in the capital, as protesters chanted, “The people want the butcher put on trial,’’ referring to Saleh.