Top generals, ambassadors and some tribes threw their support behind Yemen's anti-government protesters on Monday in a major blow to President Ali Abdullah Saleh as he tries to survive growing demands for his immediate departure. The president, a perennial survivor who has stayed in power for 32 years throughout a civil war, numerous uprisings and militant campaigns, has seen a string of allies break ranks with him in recent days.
Despite that, pan-Arab TV channel Al Arabiya quoted Saleh as saying the majority of Yemenis were with him and that he was "holding on", while Al Jazeera said he had asked Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal to mediate in the worsening crisis.
Defence Minister Mohammad Nasser Ali said on Monday that the army still backed Saleh. "The armed forces will stay faithful to the oath they gave before God, the nation and political leadership under the brother president Ali Abdullah Saleh," Ali said in a statement read out on state TV. "We will not allow under any circumstances an attempt at a coup against democracy and constitutional legitimacy, or violation of the security of the nation and citizens."
Yemeni television showed footage of Saleh, facing popular protests against his 32-year rule, swearing in new members of the appointed Shura Council, Yemen's upper house of parliament. The latest defections and resignations were apparently sparked by Saleh's decision to resort to violence to deal with the continuing protests against his rule.
On Friday snipers killed 52 anti-government protesters in Sanaa, prompting Saleh to sack his cabinet and declare a state of emergency for 30 days that restricts freedom of movement and the right to gather and gives police more power of arrest. On Monday mourners buried some of the dead. But the televised announcement of defection by powerful General Ali Mohsen on Monday was a major setback to Saleh.
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