Blow to Yemen's president as army chiefs join opposition

Rival tanks deployed in the streets of Yemen's capital yesterday after three senior army commanders defected to a movement calling for the ouster of the US-backed president, radically depleting his support among the country's most powerful institutions.

Major-General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, commander of the army's powerful 1st Armoured Division, announced his defection in a message delivered by a close aide to protest leaders at the Sanaa square that has become the centre of their movement.

Some of the division's tanks and armoured vehicles then deployed in the square, which protesters have occupied for more than a month to press for the resignation of president Ali Abdullah Saleh after 32 years in power.

An increasingly violent crackdown on the demonstrations escalated dramatically on Friday when Mr Saleh's forces opened fire from rooftops, killing at least 45 people in an assault that caused much of his remaining power base to splinter.

Maj-Gen al-Ahmar also sent tanks to the state television building, the Central Bank and the defence ministry.

He said the deaths on Friday made him decide to back the opposition after weeks of trying to mediate between Mr Saleh and the protesters.

"The demands of the protesters are the demands of the Yemeni people," he said. "I can no longer fool myself."

The two other officers who announced their defection were brigadiers Mohammed Ali Mohsen and Hameed al-Qusaibi.

Yemen's ambassadors to Jordan and Syria and the parliament's deputy speaker also announced yesterday that they were supporting the opposition, further undermining Mr Saleh's weakening authority.

However, Mr Saleh appeared to be retaining the loyalty of at least some of Yemen's military.

Defence minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed said on television that the armed forces remained loyal to the president and would counter any plots against "constitutional legitimacy".

At least a dozen tanks and armoured personnel carriers belonging to the Republican Guards - an elite force led by Mr Saleh's son and one-time heir apparent, Ahmed - were deployed outside the presidential palace on Sanaa's southern outskirts, according to witnesses.

A senior opposition leader said last night that contacts were under way with the president over a peaceful way out of the ongoing crisis.One option under discussion, he said, was for Mr Saleh to step down and a military council to run the country until presidential and legislative elections are held.

He gave no details of how much progress the talks have made thus far, but gave 48 hours as the likely timeframe for a breakthrough.

Mr Saleh also sent a message via his foreign minister to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Yemen's powerful neighbour and the on-off backer of the Yemeni leader. The contents of the message were not known.

However, a government official said the president had asked Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal to mediate in the crisis.

The French foreign minister, Alain Juppe, said: "The situation is getting worse. It seems that the departure of President Saleh is unavoidable. So we give our support to all those that fight for democracy."

All three army officers who defected belong to Mr Saleh's Hashid tribe. Sadeq al-Ahmar, the chief of the Hashid tribe, said yesterday that he too was joining the opposition.

Regional TV stations reported that dozens of army commanders and politicians were joining the opposition, but there was no independent confirmation.

Mr Saleh fired his entire cabinet on Sunday ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and a series of ambassadors have also quit in protest.