Saleh: 'I will not let Yemen be a failed state'

YEMEN'S embattled president Ali Abdullah Saleh issued defiant messages yesterday, even as intense battles raged in the heart of the capital for a third day, saying he will not step down or allow the country to become a "failed state".

Mr Saleh's sharp response - read by his spokesman - suggested he was prepared to escalate the fight against powerful opposition tribes that have battled government forces since Monday. The clashes have left at least 63 dead and dozens more seriously hurt.

The conflict also sharply increased chances Yemen's three-month uprising could turn into a militia-led revolt after street protests and Arab mediation failed to crack Mr Saleh's 32-year authoritarian rule.

"I will not leave power and I will not leave Yemen," the spokesman, Ahmed al-Soufi, quoted Mr Saleh as saying.

In the statement, Mr Saleh also hit out at United States-backed efforts to negotiate his exit, saying: "I don't take orders from outside."

The statement also vowed that "Yemen will not be a failed state" and that Mr Saleh would try to keep the latest violence from "dragging the country into a civil war".