All set for ‘Day of Rage' todaySANA'A/ADEN: Yemen's opposition rejected an offer for a unity government Monday, saying it would stand with the tens of thousands of protesters demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule. The move came as violence spiked against security forces in the south. Local officials said gunmen killed two soldiers in successive attacks, and a prison riot killed one inmate and wounded two guards as four prisoners escaped. Saleh, a US ally against Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, has been struggling to quell daily protests that have swept across the state, leaving 24 people dead in the past two weeks. On Monday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered across Yemen, from the capital Sana'a to disparate regions where separatists or Shi'ite rebels hold sway, chanting slogans such as “No dialogue, no dialogue. You leaving is the only option.” Saleh has been trying to rally support from key tribal groups and military leaders and Monday expressed willingness to form a unity government at a meeting with religious leaders, a source present at the meeting told Reuters. Yemen's opposition, already planning country-wide demonstrations for a billed “Day of Rage” Tuesday, said it would not accept such a proposal. “The opposition decided to stand with the people's demand for the fall of the regime, and there is no going back from that,” said Mohammed Al-Sabry, a spokesman for Yemen's umbrella opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Party. Opposition to Saleh gained steam as students and activists took to the streets since January, galvanized by successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. The activist movement regained support last week from the traditional political opposition, which dropped planned talks with Saleh. On Monday, the Sana'a protesters' ranks swelled as tribesmen and Islamist groups also joined the rallies. In Sanaa, where the government exerts the most control, around 5,000 protesters camped out in front of Sana'a University, shouting anti-Saleh slogans in the morning and chewing narcotic qat leaves in their tents and singing nationalist songs in the afternoon. They have been there for over a week. “The president has made a lot of promises and he has not delivered. We are desperate,” said Ahmed Al-Muwallad, an unemployed graduate of a university pharmaceutical program. Naji Al-Anisi, 19, is a soldier in the army but joined protesters camped out at Sana'a University a week ago. “I eat two meals a day, just yoghurt and bread. But it's OK if it leads to freedom from this regime.” Security forces set up road blocks around the protest camp in Sanaa to frisk those seeking to join the sit-in. Police were trying to prevent food from entering the area in an effort to choke off supplies. Police also blocked a convoy of around 1,000 protesters leaving Taiz in an attempt to reach Aden, where protests have lead to the fiercest clashes between police and demonstrators.
