SANAA — The Yemeni opposition accused President Ali Abdullah
Saleh on Wednesday of “maneuvers” to gain time in an attempt to
remain in power and insisted on his immediate departure.

This came as anti-regime protesters, camped at a square near
the university in the capital Sanaa since February, vowed not to budge until
Saleh quits despite cancelling plans for a Friday march towards the
presidential palace.

“The president throws his different cards here and
there every minute and every day and maneuvers… in an attempt to remain in
power,” said Mohammed Qahtan, the parliamentary opposition’s spokesman.

Last week, Saleh reportedly offered to step down by the end
of 2011, a proposal snubbed by the opposition. But his ruling party said Friday
he should serve out his current term until the next scheduled presidential
election in 2013.

“There’s no choice for Saleh but to resign, and the
opposition’s stance is tied to that of the protesters,” he said. “The
opposition is heading towards escalating its civil peaceful movements until the
regime falls.”

A spokesman for the demonstrators, Adel al-Dal, said:
“The current situation … does not allow the protesters to march towards
the presidential palace” which is surrounded by troops loyal to Saleh.

Troops initially blocked marchers from converging on the
square by the campus from three separate departure points around the capital
but they later relented and there was a noticeable rise in numbers, an AFP
correspondent reported.

In Eb, southwest of the capital, tens of thousands of
demonstrators took to the streets, witnesses said.

U.S. ambassador Gerald Feierstein held talks with the
assistant secretary general of the ruling General People’s Congress, Sultan
al-Burkani, on “ways to get out of the crisis,”  the Yemeni defense ministry newspaper’s
website said.

Feierstein insisted on the “need to solve the crisis by
peaceful means and in a way that preserves the security, unity and democratic
achievements of Yemen,” the website added.

A key U.S. ally in its “war on terror,” Saleh has
been faced with mass protests since the end of January, calling for an end to
his 32-year rule. Fifty-two demonstrators were reported killed in a protest on
March 18 alone.

Amnesty International puts the total death toll at 95.