Excerpt from Al Jazeera:
Military leaders, ambassadors and tribal chiefs in Yemen have made clear their support for pro-democracy protesters, ramping up pressure on Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's president, to step down.
Following a wave of defections, Mohammad Nasser Ali, Yemen's defence minister, appeared on state television on Monday maintaining 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.
"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."
But in the streets of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, rival tanks were ranged against each other after three senior army commanders announced that they backed the protesters.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Gabool al Mutawakil, a youth activist, said: "We are now in the middle of two militaries - one that has joined the protesters and one that is under the authority of president Saleh. There is fear of civil war, but we are insisting on having a peaceful revolution."
Earlier Major General Ali Mohsen Saleh, the head of the north western military zone and the head of the first armoured division, announced his support for the protesters.
Brigadier Hameed Al Koshebi, the head of brigade 310 in the Omran area, Brigadier Mohammed Ali Mohsen, who heads the eastern division, Brigadier Nasser Eljahori, the head of brigade 121, and General Ali Abdullaha Aliewa, an adviser to the Yemeni supreme leader of the army also deserted the president. (READ FULL ARTICLE HERE)
