Top army commanders defect in Yemen

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Ahmad Zaidan, an Al Jazeera correspondent who was expelled while covering events in Yemen, says president Ali Abdullah Saleh is running out of money to finance his regime.

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2:52am Libya Time: Gunmen have stormed the offices of Al Jazeera in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, seizing broadcasting equipment. More information soon.

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6:01am
Four out of the six staff members at the Yemeni embassy in Washington are saying they no longer support President Saleh and are siding with the people.

But one political officer, Khaled M Alkathiri, told Al Jazeera that doesn't necessarily mean he backs the opposition movement.

Quote
What's going on in Yemen is not about opposition parties. It's about those young people in the university, militants, and a lot of people so the opposition is not the one who's leading this. It's a national movement, it's everybody protesting and we've joined that.

I'm still in my office, I'm doing my job because we're serving the Yemeni people. Yes, we are representing the government but at the same time we're representing Yemeni people. The government of Yemen changes from time to time but the diplomatic corps are still there."
Unquote

 

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11:01am BBC Arabic radio says that the clashes took place between Republican guard units loyal to president’s son and military units loyal to resigned Major General, Ali Mohsen.

They says at least 3 soldiers were injured in the attacks, and that military units were seen today in Sanaa around major sites, such as central bank and the department of defence building.

10:35am An army officer and three soliders were injured in clashes between a military unit and a republican guard unit in the city of Al Mukalla, in Yemen's Hadramaut province. A number of tanks gave been deployed to the entrance and main roads of the city.

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11:29am Yemeni and Saudi leaders are engaged in mediation efforts to hold early presidential elections in Yemen. Media source in Riyadh said that the Yemeni foreign minister in the care-taker government has returned to Sanaa after delivering a message from the Yemeni president to the Saudi king last night.

Diplomatic sources said the Yemeni president requested Saudi help in reaching out to the leaders of the opposition. There were reports that the Yemeni president may offer to step down in six month in return for a “period of calm” agreed upon by all sides.

 

[Developereo]

Oh no!

Now that the pro-democarcy movement has military support, the apologists for the dictator will claim that this whole thing is a Western conspiracy.

 

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Yemeni president offers to quit by year-end
Ali Abdullah Saleh offers to exit by the end of 2011, vowing not to hand power to the military.
Last Modified: 22 Mar 2011 01:21

Yemen's president has offered to step down from his post by the end of the year, a presidential spokesman has said.

Ahmed al-Sufi told the Associated Press news agency on Tuesday that Ali Abdullah Saleh told military leaders and government officials about his decision on Monday night.

Saleh pledged a "constitutional" transfer of power, and also said he would not hand over power to the military.

It is unclear whether Yemen's opposition would accept the offer. A similar proposal was the subject of discussions between Saleh and opposition groups earlier this month. Saleh has already promised not to run for another term when his current term expires in 2013.

Saleh has a history of breaking similar promises: In 2005, he vowed not to run for another term in office, only to run and win another term in 2006.

Read the rest and see the video in the link here