Thousands of pro and anti-government demonstrators filled two main squares in the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Friday, as the unrest that gripped the country for the past two months continued, DPA reported.
Pro-government demonstrators from across the country headed to Sana'a to show solidarity with President Ali Abdullah Saleh and request him to stay in office.
Meanwhile, thousands of anti-Saleh protesters gathered in main public squares in both Sana'a, and south-western Taiz, the country's third-largest city.
"We need more patience and more persistence," said the cleric in his Friday sermon to the crowd gathered in Taiz.
"Today we send them a message, that there is no place between us for those who sell the dignity of our country," added the cleric.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to take to the streets across the country following the Friday noon prayer calling on Saleh, who has been power since 1978, to step down.
On Thursday, clerics and tribal leaders urged Saleh and his relatives holding senior posts in the government to resign immediately.
They warned that if Saleh and his aides do not meet public demands, they will lead protests and sit-ins in various Yemeni provinces to oust the regime.
"We reject any initiative by our brothers and friends that does not clearly call for meeting the demands of the peaceful revolution topped by the immediate resignation of President Saleh," they said.
Opposition and government representatives will meet next week in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss prospects of the Gulf brokered offer to transfer power from Saleh to his deputy.
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