Yemen: Millions Protest on Last Chance Friday

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

Millions of protesters have reportedly thronged the squares of Sanaa and Taiz, calling for the end of Ali Abdulla Saleh's regime. Dubbed Last Chance Friday, protesters are keen to boot out Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 32 years.

The whole week saw support pumped up for today's massive protests, which didn't fail the expectations of observers. Some estimates put those who took to the streets in protest against the regime at hundreds of thousands.

From Yemen, @al3ini shares this photograph which shows thousands of people in the capital Sanaa:

Millions at 60th Street in the capital Sanaa

Millions at 60th Street in the capital Sanaa

He tweets:

Have a look! This is the last chance Friday in #Sanaa #YEMEN #YF http://t.co/d7KxNZA

In Dubai, Iyad El-Baghdadi adds:

Wow – Taiz protests in #Yemen are now “about a million” in size!

And Muna, from @ArabsUnite, shares this photograph of women protesters in Yemen and writes:

Sanaa's Women — Young and old out. #Yemen wants #Saleh to LEAVE http://twitpic.com/4o13ak

Journalist Iona Craig, who reports from Yemen, tweeted:

Protesters left Change Sq. for “Last chance Friday” prayers & took to 60m road, spreading for more than a mile: http://bit.ly/e7DfFE #yemen

And on her blog, she posts a selection of photographs from today and comments:

For the first time anti-government protesters left the tented sit-in for “Last chance Friday” prayers and took to the major six-lane highway of 60 meter road, spreading for more than a mile.

Down the road President Saleh once again addressed thousands of his supporters in the now regular rival protests in the capital.

And then comes news of casualties, as expected every time there are protests. Yemen Revolution tweets:

#yemen حجه : سقوط أول شهيد وأسمه : عبدالحميد حزيت وعمرة 15 سنه رحمه الله عليه http://fb.me/LFVgYEVe
Hujja: The first martyr falls. His name is Abdulhameed Huzait and he is 15 years old. May Allah have mercy on him.

From Sanaa, alymene1 shares this video, from today's Friday prayers:

And on Twitter, Hamoud Saleh links to the same video and comments (Ar):

قرابة 2 مليون في شارع الستين يرددون بصوت واحد: الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام – youtube.com/watch?v=fKWzWE… #Yemen #Egypt #Libya #Syria #Tunisia
Around two million people on 60th Street, chanting in one voice: The people want to overthrow the regime

From Al Baida, in Yemen, Albaidanews shares this clip of Friday prayers, showing countless protesters today:

Meanwhile, egyps shares a video from Al Jazeera, from 70th Street in Sanaa, showing Saleh speaking to supporters there, welcoming a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plan for a three-month transition of power. The plan gives Saleh, his family and aides, immunity from prosecution.

The GCC is made up of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

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