The anti-government youth protesters in Yemen numbering in thousands marched towards the Republican Palace on Monday in an act of defiance against the President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime.

The protesters in Taiz numbered more than 90,000 And More than 500 people were injured, including 154 suffered from gunshot wounds. When security forces reportedly opened fire on the protestors.

Around 20 tanks and armored vehicles surrounded the principal government building in Taiz as security forces tried to hold back advancing protesters

Al Jazeera reported that field hospital in Yemeni capital, Sana was full after bloody clashes in Taiz, a medical team leader says.

The protest also took place in other parts of Yemen such as Hodeida, on Yemen’s Red Sea coast in which at least two people were killed and nine injured, medical sources said, and also in the cities of Aden and Ibb.

A senior government official in Hodeida said the violence began when protesters attempted to get into a palace. The official said security forces were only defending government property from theft.

“Protesters have been shot by Saleh’s snipers today in Taiz and Hodeida. The seat of presidency is more valuable than Yemeni blood,” said Mohammed Qahtan, spokesperson for the opposition Joint Meeting Parties bloc. “Saleh is killing people without fear,” he added to it later.

Saleh has ruled since 1978 and has been fighting to hold on to power, arguing that he is best equipped to lead the fight against Islamists. He has been a strong and firm U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Saleh has offered to resign by the end of the year after constitutional reforms and new elections.

The Joint Meeting Parties bloc has demanded Saleh’s immediate resign from the post, and a plan unveiled Saturday called for Saleh to hand over all authority to Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, a spokesman for the bloc, told reporters.

The bloc wants Hadi, as president, to form a council that focuses on the reconstruction of Yemen constitution and for the betterment of the public.

Image Source: Al Jazeera