SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni security forces used live fire and tear gas on Thursday on protesters demanding an end to the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounding at least 84, activists said. Protesters in the southern city of Taiz said 80 people were wounded there and four were reported wounded in the capital Sanaa. State media made no mention of the incidents. Government website September 26 said there were marches in many cities in support of Saleh and his offers of political reforms, including an offer not to run for reelection in 2013. The Arabian Peninsula state, neighbour to oil giant Saudi Arabia, has been hit by weeks of protests trying to shake loose Saleh's 32-year grip on power. The United States, which has long seen Saleh as a bulwark against an active Al-Qaeda wing based in Yemen, has condemned the bloodshed and backed the right to peaceful protest. But it has also insisted only dialogue can end the political crisis. September 26 said three militants suspected of links to Al-Qaeda were killed when they tried to attack a military checkpoint on Thursday in Marib province. Also on Thursday, security forces said they had arrested two suspected Al-Qaeda members. Both pro- and anti-government factions appeared to be increasingly resorting to violence, but activists said protesters had not used force in the latest demonstrations. Meanwhile, Human rights group Amnesty International condemned a violent crackdown by Syrian security forces against a peaceful protest held in Damascus by people calling for the release of political prisoners. Wednesday's silent protest in which about 150 people had raised pictures of their missing friends and relatives had barely started before plainclothes security forces charged the demonstrators with batons and beat them. Witnesses told the rights group at least 30 people were arrested, some of whom included family members of political prisoners and human rights activists, and taken to unknown locations.