Yemeni opposition says no to Saleh's new offer

Yemen's opposition stepped up efforts to remove President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Thursday, dismissing his offer to stand down after a presidential election at the end of the year. Tensions ratcheted higher a day ahead of a planned rally that protesters have dubbed "Friday of Departure", and presidential guards loyal to Saleh clashed with army units backing opposition groups demanding his ouster.
But a top general who has thrown his weight behind the protesters said he had no desire to take power, as fears grew of a major confrontation between rival military units in the capital Sanaa or elsewhere. Yassin Noman, head of Yemen's opposition coalition, dismissed Saleh's offer as "empty words" and a spokesman said the umbrella coalition would not respond.
"No dialogue and no initiatives for this dead regime," opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry said. General Ali Mohsen, who sent troops to protect pro-democracy protesters in Sanaa, said the options before Saleh were now few, and criticised what he described as his "stubbornness", but said the armed forces were committed to protecting protesters.
He said military rule in Arab countries was outdated and that the people would decide who would govern them in the framework of a modern, civilian state. "Ali Mohsen as an individual has served for 55 years and has no desire for any power or position," he told Reuters. "I have no more ambition left except to spend the remainder of my life in tranquillity, peace and relaxation far from the problems of politics and the demands of the job."
Mohsen, commander of the north-west military zone and Saleh's kinsman from the al-Ahmar clan, is the most senior military officer to back the protests, and his move on Monday triggered a stream of defections in the military and government.
The general, an Islamist seen as close to the Islamist opposition, said the army would work with the international community against terrorism. Yemen lies on key shipping routes and borders the world's leading oil exporter Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda has used Yemen as a base to plot attacks in both Saudi Arabia and the United States, and both countries have bet on Saleh to contain the group.
Washington and Riyadh, Yemen's main financial backer, have long seen Saleh as a bulwark against a resurgent Yemen-based al Qaeda network, which has entrenched itself in the mountainous state. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Washington had not planned for an era without Saleh.
Western countries and Saudi Arabia are worried about a power vacuum if Saleh goes that could embolden al Qaeda. With no clear successor in line and with conflicts gripping northern and southern Yemen, the country of 23 million faces fears of a break-up, in addition to poverty, a water shortage, dwindling oil reserves and lack of central government control. Northern Shias have taken up arms against Saleh, and southerners dream of a separate state.
Opposition parties said on Thursday they were tired of the drip-feed of concessions. "This talk is aimed at delaying the announcement of the death of the regime. The opposition does not need to respond," said spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry.