Sana, Yemen:
Two protesters were reportedly killed and around 11 were wounded on Tuesday evening when supporters of Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh opened fire in front of the Saana University.
Government supporters swinging clubs tried to drive anti-government protesters from a square in Yemen's capital late on Tuesday, as tens of thousands rallied across the country in a widening campaign to bring down the president.
The pro-government forces eventually withdrew from the square near Sanaa University.
Eleven protesters were taken to a local hospital, two of them in serious condition, medical officials said.
News reports quoting a medical official said two university students had been shot dead.
Saleh had told a news conference on Monday that he ordered troops not to fire at anti-government protesters, except in self defence, though medical officials say at least 11 people have been killed in demonstrations.
US-backed Saleh, in power for 32 years, has said that he will step down after national elections are held in 2013.
But he has rejected protesters' demands that he leave office now.
The protests erupted earlier this month, as part of a wave of unrest that has spread across the Arab world.
Saleh's government was already weak before the protests, facing an al-Qaida branch, a southern separatist movement and disaffected tribesmen around the country.
In recent days, demonstrators have been digging in, setting up encampments in city squares and vowing to stay until Saleh is removed.
The tactic was reminiscent of the Egyptian uprising during which protesters held Cairo's central square for 18 days, until the ouster of the country's president.