JNN 13 Aug 2011 : Millions of people have taken to the streets of cities and towns in Yemen for “Friday of the Victory by God’s Will” demonstrations, which were organized by the Youth Revolutionist group.

Protesters held demonstrations in Sana’a, Taizz, Ibb, Ataq, Mar’ib, Al-Mukallah, and other towns to show their support for the popular revolution, the Press TV correspondent in Sana’a reported.

The Yemeni protesters called for the prosecution of Ali Abdullah Saleh and the leading figures of his regime and also expressed their support for the establishment of a national council to rule the country.

The Joint Meeting Parties opposition coalition plans to hold a meeting on August 17 to establish a national council, which the opposition says will unite and take charge of all revolutionary forces in Yemen and establish a new government.

On Friday, Yemeni Deputy Information Minister Abdu al-Janadi said that if the opposition groups establish a national council it would be viewed as a constitutional coup and a call for war.

In response to Janidi’s statement, Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, a powerful tribal leader, and the tribal coalition formed a few weeks ago said that the revolutionaries would retaliate to any act of aggression against them.

Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in Yemen’s major cities since January, calling for an end to corruption and unemployment and demanding the ouster of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in office since 1978.

Hundreds of protesters have been killed and many more injured in the regime’s crackdown on Yemen’s popular uprising.

Meanwhile, Saleh is still convalescing in Saudi Arabia, where he travelled for medical treatment one day after he was injured in an attack on his presidential palace on June 3.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of supporters of Saleh staged rival rallies in several squares, demanding Saleh not to sign a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative for transferring power and requiring him to “stay in power until 2013 according to the Yemeni Constitution.”

Saleh, who has been in Saudi Arabia for rehabilitation for more than two months, met his ruling party officials in Riyadh on Wednesday, according to official Saba news agency.

During the meeting, “Saleh underlined the ruling party’s commitment to deal positively with the GCC initiative and search for appropriate mechanism to implement the initiative with the opposition in order to ensure a peaceful power transition in accordance with the Yemeni Constitution.”

The GCC initiative, which has been backed out by Saleh for three times, proposed that the president should resign in 30 days and hold presidential elections within 60 days.