Aden, Yemen (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Five more people have died after being shot during anti-government protests in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Friday, medical sources said on Saturday.

That brought to seven the number killed in the clashes with security forces in Aden. About 50 people were wounded.

Twenty-four people have now been killed since Feb. 17 in daily protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh`s 32-year rule. Unrest has been especially intense in the once-independent south, where many people resent rule from the north.

Loyalists and opponents of the 68-year-old leader held rival demonstrations in the capital Sanaa after Friday prayers.

Anti-Saleh protesters shouted slogans which have echoed around the Arab world since the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia: "The people demand the downfall of the regime."

Saleh supporters chanted their loyalty to a man they see as holding the impoverished tribal nation together. "The creator of unity is in our hearts. We will not abandon him," they cried. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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