For at least the third day in a row, clashes broke out between pro- and anti-government protesters in Yemen's capital Feb 14 morning.

About 200 anti-government protesters were rallying outside Sanaa University calling for regime change as they have since the weekend, when about 300 counter-demonstrators carrying pictures of President Ali Abdullah Saleh confronted them.

The two sides threw rocks at each other, and later brandished daggers and knives. Some security forces at the scene tried to separate the two sides, while others stood on the sidelines.

The anti-government protesters accused the counter-protesters of being plainclothes policemen.

On Feb 13, hundreds of anti-government protesters marched toward a presidential palace. Some of them chanted, "First Mubarak, now Ali," referring to the Yemeni leader and Hosni Mubarak, who recently resigned as president of Egypt after nearly 30 years in power.

Security forces put up a barbed wire barricade and blocked the protesters' path about two miles from the palace. At that point, the situation intensified as protesters turned away and attempted to reach the palace through side streets.

The government welcomed the opposition's willingness to initiate a dialogue - though the protesters indicated otherwise, CNN reports.