At least 17 protesters were wounded and up to 165 others were arrested Monday in clashes between anti- government demonstrators and the police and paramilitary forces in Yemen's capital Sanaa and the southern province of Taiz, witnesses told Xinhua.

The clashes in Sanaa erupted when thousands of demonstrators, including hundreds of students and lawyers, marched through the city and attempted to enter the downtown square Al-Tahrir, while about 2,000 armed paramilitary forces deployed there in rows trying to stop them from entering.

The paramilitary forces and plainclothes policemen used electroshock tasers, batons and daggers to disperse the demonstrators, injuring seven protesters and arrested 15 others, the witnesses said.

"Policemen in plainclothes chased me and beat me up and dragged me into a car which belongs to a governmental official, "Mohammed Ghurab, a local reporter told Xinhua, "They accused me of working against the government and held me for a while as they asked me a lot of questions before they released me."

In Taiz, ten protesters were injured and around 150 others were detained following a clash between several thousands of anti- government demonstrators and security forces, according to a local councilman and eyewitnesses.

"The demonstrators managed to drive security forces away and occupied the Taiz's main square," the councilman told Xinhua on condition of anonymity, adding that "the demonstrators are still gathering in the square as security forces surrounded the area."

The demonstrators were calling for the ouster of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in office for 33 years.

Although the opposition coalition announced Sunday that they had agreed to the political reforms offered by Saleh and voiced readiness to engage in national dialogue with the ruling party, demonstrations still gained momentum in the country.

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