Two anti-government protesters were killed and more than 10 were wounded by gunfire during clashes with supporters of Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa today. witnesses said.
Thousands of protesters have again rallied at a square near the university in the capital to call for the president to resign.
Seven members of parliament belonging to the president's ruling GPC party have resigned. They said the move was in protest at violence used to quell demonstrations calling for the president to quit.
The resignations, including some major allies of Mr Saleh, are a political blow to a president facing popular opposition to end his 32-year rule, although he still retains the support of around 80 per cent of parliament.
"The people must have the right to demonstrate peacefully," Abdulaziz Jubari, a leading parliamentarian who has resigned, said.
Mr Jubari said the parliamentarians had sent a 10-point letter to Mr Saleh with demands for immediate reform, including restructuring the army to make it more representative of Yemen's complex society and to aid a transition to democracy.
Among those who resigned is tribal leader Abdo Bisher from the Sanaa region and two figures from southern Yemen.
Mr Saleh's General Ruling Congress Party still has around 240 members out of the 301-strong parliament, which the opposition says was a result of unfair elections and the use of state machinery to elect his allies.
The president said he will not succumb to what he described as opponents advocating anarchy.
Agencies