Hundreds of anti-riot policemen and government backers clashed violently with a thousand anti-government protesters during a demonstration marching towards the presidential palace in Yemen's capital on Tuesday, leaving a number of protesters injured.

Around 500 Policemen and supporters of the government armed with batons and knives beat back about 1,000 anti-government demonstrators, mostly students and lawyers marching in a main street outside Sanaa University towards the presidential palace, injuring several protesters, according to a Xinhua correspondent.

"People want the regime to fall; People want President (Ali Abdullah) Saleh and his family to leave," the protesters chanted.

The policemen managed to disperse the demonstration in Hail Street, some 10 km away from the president's palace, after they beat the protesters.

Meanwhile, hundreds of ant-regime demonstrators took to streets in the country's southern city port of Aden.

"The protesters did not shout separatist slogans, but echoing slogans demanding Saleh and his family to leave the country," a provincial police source told Xinhua by phone.

The Police fired hail of bullets in air and dispersed the protesters who were gathering in streets of Crater district in Aden. No clashes were reported.

Protests against the government have been rattling the impoverished Arab country for five straight days, inspired by the Egypt's popular protests that forced Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak out of power.