Hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ouster have marched in the Yemeni capital, raising tensions as troops deployed to try to prevent mass protests.
Security forces closed off all access routes to the capital from Saturday afternoon while armed civilians loyal to the veteran president also took to Sanaa's streets.
"The people want to march on the (presidential) palace," demonstrators chanted on Sunday.
But in an apparent bid to avoid a confrontation with Saleh loyalists, demonstrators marched in a part of northern Sanaa that is guarded by an armoured division led by a general who has defected to the opposition.
However, a small group of demonstrators clashed with Saleh loyalists after they split off from the main procession and headed towards government departments.
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Four protesters were wounded, including two by gunfire, organisers said.
Sanaa has been left without electricity since Saturday afternoon, and most petrol stations in the capital have turned off the taps, semi-paralysing the capital.
The massive deployment by troops loyal to Saleh followed an opposition call to step up protests against his rule with the political process deadlocked in the face of the president's three-month-long absence abroad.
Demonstrations were also staged in Taez, Yemen's second largest city and a flashpoint in anti-Saleh protests which have swept the impoverished state since late January.
Saleh has been receiving medical treatment in Saudi Arabia for wounds sustained in a June 3 bomb attack on his Sanaa palace compound.
