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Truncheons drawn as thousands march in capital Sana’a amid fears over stability in the region Yemeni police have clashed with anti-government protesters staging a third consecutive day of demonstrations calling for political reforms and the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Several thousand protesters, many of them university students, tried to reach the central square in the capital, Sana’a, but were pushed back by police using truncheons. The fall of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, has emboldened protesters in Yemen and raised questions about the country’s stability and other western-allied governments in the region. Saleh has been in power for three decades and has tried to defuse the unrest by promising not to run for re-election in 2013. Witnesses in Sana’a said several protesters were injured and 23 were detained by police in Sunday’s clashes. They said plainclothes police officers holding daggers and sticks joined the security forces in driving the protesters back. The protesters – chanting “people want to overthrow the regime” – tried to reach Hada Square in the downtown area of the city. Demonstrators tried to reach Tahrir (Liberation) Square on Saturday, but security forces pushed them back. Buses ferried ruling party members, equipped with tents, food and water, to the city’s main square to help prevent attempts by protesters to gather there. On Sunday, local officials provided qat, leaves Yemenis chew as a stimulant, to plainclothes police and government supporters who spent the night in the square, witnesses said. Police also set barbed wire around the square to prevent protesters from taking it over. The anti-government protests started on Friday night as thousands of Yemenis took to the street to celebrate the resignation of Mubarak and demand the overthrow of their own president. The US finds itself in a delicate position in Yemen, where it is seeking a balance between democratic reforms and stability in a country that has become a key ally in the fight against Islamist militants. Yemen is the Arab world’s most impoverished country and has become a haven for al-Qaida militants. Critics accuse the government, which has little control outside the capital, of corruption. Oil – Yemen’s main source of income – could run dry in a decade. The country has been the site of anti-US attacks dating back to the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden harbour, which killed 17 American sailors. The radical US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, thought to be hiding in Yemen, is suspected of having inspired some attacks, including the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in which 13 people died. Yemen Middle East Hosni Mubarak Egypt guardian.co.uk