SANAA, Yemen - March 22, 2011 - Yemen's U.S.-backed president, his support crumbling among political allies and the army, warned Tuesday that the country could slide into a bloody civil war as the opposition rejected his offer to step down by the end of the year. Tens of thousands protested in the capital demanding his immediate ouster, emboldened by top military commanders who joined their cause.
Ali Abdullah Saleh's apparent determination to cling to power raised fears that Yemen could be pushed into even greater instability. In a potentially explosive split, rival factions of the military have deployed tanks in the capital Sanaa - with units commanded by Saleh's son protecting the president's palace, and units loyal to a top dissident commander protecting the protesters.
The defection on Monday of that commander, Maj. General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a powerful regime insider who commands the army's 1st Armored Division, has been seen by many as a major turning point toward a potentially rapid end for Saleh's nearly 32-year rule.
Already, clashes broke out late Monday between Saleh's Republican Guard and dissident army units in the far eastern corner of the country. On Tuesday, Republican Guard tanks surrounded a key air base in the western Red Sea coastal city of Hodeida after its commander - Col. Ahmed al-Sanhani, a member of Saleh's own clan - announced he was joining the opposition.
The turmoil raised alarm in Washington, which has heavily backed Saleh to wage a campaign against a major Yemen-based al-Qaida wing that plotted attacks in the United States.
Protesters massed by the tens of thousands Tuesday afternoon in the downtown Sanaa plaza they have dubbed "Taghyeer," or "Change" square. Crowds ululated, chanted and painted each other's faces in the red, white and black colors of the national flag. Conservative tribesmen bought their wives to the protest, and the women bought their children, all basking in a carnival atmosphere.
The wave of defections and resignations since Friday has included army commanders, ambassadors, members of Saleh's ruling party, lawmakers, provincial governors, and some managers of the state-run media. With most pillars of his rule knocked away, Saleh's strongest card remains his family and the loyalist military units they command.
Throughout his rule, Saleh has stayed in power through manipulation and patronage. He has used money to keep the loyalty of powerful tribes, seeded the military with close family members and courted Islamic fundamentalists, using militants as pro-regime fighters against opponents.
