Tens of thousands marched Sunday in the capital Sanaa past the office of Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, denouncing him as a “tool in the hands” of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The march took place as Hadi was meeting with US Ambassador Gerald Feierstein.

A statement from Hadi’s office said they discussed Yemen’s crisis and that Hadi appealed for calm.

Troops commanded by Saleh’s relatives attacked peaceful protesters in Sanaa on Saturday, killing at least nine. Yielding to pressure to defuse the country’s turmoil, Saleh said Saturday he would leave for the United States.