Yemenis Support a Peaceful Transfer of Power

Supporters of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh held a rally on Friday rejecting calls for him to step down, stressing that the only way to change the government would be by holding new elections.

Pro-Saleh supporters dismiss fears that Muammar Qaddafi's death is a warning for their leader who routinely resists calls to resign. They said that what happened in Libya has nothing to do with the situation in Yemen.

Saleh, who reneged three times on pledges to hand over power, has already survived an assassination attempt which forced him briefly into exile for medical treatment.

Tunisia's leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak both stepped down within a few weeks of mass protests breaking out against them, whereas Saleh's supporters want him to hold into power.

Mojahed Al Yattem, a protestor said "The majority of people are with Saleh, and with his achievements, and with the preservation of unity, with the peaceful transfer of power, pursued by and drawn and confirmed in the Constitution, and thus the privacy of Yemen is different altogether from what is going on in Libya or other countries,"

Meanwhile, The United Nations Security Council urges Yemen's government and opposition to reach a swift political deal; clashes continue between Yemeni forces and tribesmen in the north of the capital Sanaa.

In the past three days, at least 26 people died in almost daily clashes between Saleh's troops and forces loyal to al-Ahmar and a tribal leader allied with the protesters.

Speaker: Mojahed Al Yattem, protestor

Voice: Abdullah Madani