Yemen leader's power base erodes with defections
SLIDESHOW
An anti-government protestor reacts as he and others wait for the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed in Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. Arabic on right hand reads 'Leave', and left hand reads '70' referring to a government area. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors pray around the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors pray next to the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed in Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Yemeni Abdul Monem, center, touches the head of his son Arafat Al-Qubati, an anti-government protester who was killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during his funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors carry the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Yemeni relatives of Arafat Al-Qubati, an anti-government who was killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, his poster seen center, put flowers over his body during his funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Relatives of an anti-government protestor who was killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces react as they carry his body during his funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors gather the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors gather by the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors carry the body of Hamid Ali, his poster seen right, who was killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during his funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
An anti-government protestor sitting on a traffic sign reacts as the bodies of demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, arrive during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
(Hani Mohammed - AP)
Anti-government protestors bury a demonstrator who was killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during his funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
(Hani Mohammed - AP)
Anti-government protestors carry the body of a demonstrator who was killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during his funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
(Hani Mohammed - AP)
An Anti-government protestor reacts while waiting the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors gather by the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
A Yemeni girl wearing a headband that reads in Arabic: " I am the coming martyr", is held by her mother during the funeral procession of demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
A Yemeni boy, holds a poster as female anti-government protestors chanting slogans as they wait the bodies of the demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. Arabic reads on the poster, " Leave, hopefully the Jini will take you". (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
An anti-government protestor, left, uses his mobile to take a picture of a banner showing demonstrators who were killed on Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Yemeni president's own tribe has called on him to step down after a deadly crackdown on protesters, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support in a society dominated by blood ties. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Yemeni army officers react as they join anti-government protestors demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
A Yemeni army officer reacts holding up his AK-47 as he and other officers join anti-government protestors demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
A Yemeni army officer reacts as he and other officers join anti-government protestors demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
An anti-government protestor displays the local currency as a symbol of poverty as he and others wait for the bodies of demonstrators killed in Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The U.S.-backed president of Yemen suffered a devastating political blow on Sunday when his own powerful tribe demanded his resignation, joining religious leaders, young people and the country's traditional opposition in calls for an end to his three decades in power. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
A Yemeni girl reacts during the funeral procession of anti-government protestors killed in Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The U.S.-backed president of Yemen suffered a devastating political blow on Sunday when his own powerful tribe demanded his resignation, joining religious leaders, young people and the country's traditional opposition in calls for an end to his three decades in power. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
(Hani Mohammed - AP)
An elderly anti-government protestor reacts as he and others wait for the bodies of demonstrators killed in Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces, during their funeral procession in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, March 20, 2011. The U.S.-backed president of Yemen suffered a devastating political blow on Sunday when his own powerful tribe demanded his resignation, joining religious leaders, young people and the country's traditional opposition in calls for an end to his three decades in power. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Female anti-government protestors shelter from the sun during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, further eroding his support as his own tribe called on him to step down. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
An anti-government protestor salutes army soldiers who joined them during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
An anti-government protestor shouts slogans during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation - his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
(Hani Mohammed - AP)
A female anti-government protestor and her daughter shelter under an umbrella to avoid the sun during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors shout slogans during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. Arabic reads on the demonstrator's body, " Leave, you are a murderer". (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
An anti-government protestor, center, wearing a gas mask, chants slogans along with others during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
An elderly anti-government protestor carried by other demonstrators flashes the victory sign during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
Anti-government protestors shout slogans during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. Banner at right in Arabic reads, " Loudly, time". (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
A Yemeni army officer reacts holding up his AK-47 as he and other officers join anti-government protestors demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, as army tanks and armored vehicles deployed in support of thousands protesting in the capital. With the defection, it appeared Saleh's support was eroding from every power base in the nation _ his own tribe called on him to step down, he fired his entire Cabinet ahead of what one government official said was a planned mass resignation, and his ambassador to the U.N. and human rights minister quit. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
A Yemeni girl stands between female anti-government demonstrators attending noon prayers during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Monday, March 21, 2011. Three Yemeni army commanders, including a top general, defected Monday to the opposition calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, and his own tribe called on him to step down. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
(Muhammed Muheisen - AP)
By AHMED AL-HAJ and HAMZA HENDAWI
The Associated Press
Tuesday, March 22, 2011; 12:48 AM
SANAA, Yemen -- A top military commander and at least 18 other senior officers defected to the opposition movement demanding the ouster of Yemen's embattled president, depriving the U.S.-allied ruler of most of his power base.
The looming collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime throws into doubt the American campaign against a major al-Qaida wing that plotted attacks in the United States.
Monday's defections led to rival tanks being deployed in the streets of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, creating a potentially explosive situation and prompting Saleh's defense minister, Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, to announce the military remained loyal to the longtime leader.
The armed forces will counter any plots against the government, Ahmed declared on state television, following a meeting of the National Defense Council, which is led by Saleh and includes Ahmed, the prime minister and the intelligence chief.
The defection of Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a longtime Saleh confidante and commander of the army's powerful 1st Armored Division, was seen by many as a turning point. It followed a major escalation in the regime's crackdown on demonstrators, when more than 40 people were killed in bloody clashes Friday.
Speaking in Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called Saleh's resignation "unavoidable" and pledged "support to all those that fight for democracy."
Tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers directed by al-Ahmar fanned out around the Sanaa square that has become the epicenter of the opposition movement, moving in for the first time to protect demonstrators.
Al-Ahmar also sent tanks to the state television building, the Central Bank and the Defense Ministry. Just miles away, at least a dozen tanks and armored personnel carriers belonging to the Republican Guards, an elite force led by Saleh's son and one-time heir apparent, Ahmed, were deployed outside the presidential palace.
The deployment of al-Ahmar's troops in Sanaa was greeted by wild jubilation from protesters, many of whom posed with soldiers for photographs, greeted them with military style salutes or offered them roses.
Calling Al-Ahmar's defection "a turning point," Edmund J. Hull, U.S. ambassador to Yemen from 2001 to 2004, said it showed "the military overall ... no longer ties its fate to that of the president."
"I'd say he's going sooner rather than later," Hull said.
In a sign of the Obama administration's growing alarm over the regime's crackdown on demonstrators, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called on the Yemeni leader to refrain from violence.