* Around 2,000 anti-govt demonstrators in capital
* Crowds repeat same chants as Cairo protesters
* Overnight, men attack protesters in capital with knives
By Khaled Abdallah
SANAA, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Thousands of Yemeni demonstrators, inspired by Egyptian protests that toppled the president, called on Saturday for a similar revolution and clashed with government supporters with fists and batons in the streets of Sanaa.
The scuffles came hours after men armed with knives and sticks forced around 300 anti-government protesters to quit a demonstration in the Yemeni capital, witnesses said.
"The people want the fall of the government," protesters chanted. "A Yemeni revolution after the Egyptian revolution."
Egypt's longtime President Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign on Friday under the pressure of mass popular protests.
Around 300 anti-government student demonstrators assembled at Sanaa University on Saturday morning. As numbers swelled into the thousands, they began marching towards the Egyptian embassy but encountered a pro-government demonstration on the way.
Scuffles broke out with some protesters throwing their shoes at their opponents while others clashed with batons and fists. Two people were lightly injured.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, eyeing protests in the Arab world, has promised to step down when his term ends in 2013 in a major concession to opponents in the Arabian Peninsula state, a key U.S. ally against al Qaeda.
He also promised not to pass power to his son.
His move followed sporadic anti-government protests, and the opposition has yet to respond to his call to join a unity government. The opposition wants talks to take place under Western or Gulf Arab auspices.
On Friday night, Yemeni authorities detained at least 10 people after anti-government protesters in Sanaa celebrated Mubarak's downfall, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said.
The group said the celebrations turned to clashes when hundreds of men armed with knives, sticks, and assault rifles attacked the protesters as security forces stood by.
"The Yemeni security forces have a duty to protect peaceful protesters," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "In this case, security forces seem to have organized armed men to attack the protesters."
There was no response from the government, which said on Saturday that it respected the choice of the Egyptian people. [ID:nLDE71B01C]
(Reporting by Mohamed Sudam, Mohammed Ghobari and Khaled Abdallah; Writing by Martina Fuchs; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
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