Tens of thousands protest in Yemen against Shiite rebel movement after president's resignation

A Houthi Shiite fighter wearing an army uniform chants slogans during a demonstration to show support for his comrades in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. Thousands of protesters demonstrated Friday across Yemen, some supporting the Shiite rebels who seized the capital and others demanding the country's south secede after the nation's president and Cabinet resigned. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) (The Associated Press)

A Yemeni protester chants slogans during a demonstration to show support for Houthi Shiite rebels in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. Thousands of protesters demonstrated Friday across Yemen, some supporting the Shiite rebels who seized the capital and others demanding the country's south secede after the nation's president and Cabinet resigned. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) (The Associated Press)

Tens of thousands of people are protesting in Yemen against the Shiite rebels who hold the capital amid a power vacuum in the country.

Some 20,000 marched Saturday across the capital, Sanaa, where demonstrators converged on the house of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who resigned Thursday along with his Cabinet. Some scuffles broke out involving knives and batons.

Security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters, said tens of thousands also demonstrated in the southern cities of Taiz and Ibb.

The protesters rejected a power grab by the Houthi rebels, calling it a "coup." In a statement Friday night, the Houthis pledged to work to bring about a smooth, democratic transfer of power after the resignations.