Saleh to go early offer fails to end Yemen crisis

In the face of mass protests since January, Saleh had said he would stay in office until his term runs out in 2013 but not run for another term. Now, a top official has said, he has now offered to quit by January after a parliamentary poll.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP it was part of an initiative by Saleh, who turned 69 on Monday and has been in power for three decades, "to switch to a parliamentary system."

A popular campaign to depose Saleh kicked off amid the mass protests in Egypt which led to the ouster of its president Hosni Mubarak, who had offered to step down early and not run again but was also spurned by the opposition.

A potential turning point came with the slaughter of 52 people gunned down by regime loyalists in Sanaa during an anti-regime demonstration on Friday that has accelerated defections from Saleh's camp.

Joining widespread international condemnation of the mass killing of civilians, the Arab League urged Sanaa on Tuesday to make "concerted efforts to safeguard national unity and the right to free expression."

With tanks deployed outside key installations in the capital, Saleh warned earlier on Tuesday that a coup attempt in Yemen could spark civil war, a day after two soldiers were reported killed in a clash between rival units.

US Defence Secretary William Gates told reporters in Moscow that Yemen's "instability and diversion of attention from dealing with AQAP (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) is certainly my primary concern about the situation."

Asked if Washington still supports Saleh, the defence chief declined to discuss "internal affairs in Yemen."

Two Al-Qaeda militants have been killed and five soldiers wounded in clashes in the southern province of Abyan, a stronghold of Osama bin Laden's network, a Yemeni security official said on Tuesday, without saying when.

Against the background of tanks on the streets, Saleh, a key US ally in its "war on terror," warned in an address to his top brass: "Any attempt to reach power via a coup will lead to a civil war in the country."

Medics and witnesses said two soldiers died in a clash near a presidential palace on Monday between the regular army and the Republican Guard, an elite force loyal to Saleh, in the southeastern city of Mukallah.

On the army side, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who commands the northwest region covering Sanaa, eastern region commander General Mohammed Ali Mohsen, and other officers on Monday pledged support for the protesters.

The defections continued on Tuesday, as one after another, soldiers and officials announced their support for the "youth revolution" at the square near Sanaa University where protesters have kept vigil since February 21.

However, a statement carried on the official Saba news agency quoting the armed forces said the military remains loyal to the president and would not allow "any attack on democracy and the constitutional order."

Apart from the political crisis and challenge from AQAP, Saleh's government is also faced by an on-off Shiite rebellion in the north and secessionist unrest in the south.

On Tuesday in Sanaa, armoured units loyal to Ahmar were deployed outside the central bank, the headquarters of Saleh's General People's Congress and other key installations.

Republican Guard tanks and special forces led by Saleh's nephew, Tareq, were posted at the presidential palace.

The opposition's Sabri urged the two sides to show restraint. "Certainly, there will be some tension and still there are some supporters (of Saleh) but we urge them ... not to make the wrong choice."

Despite being deserted by key players from all quarters, Saleh has said the "majority of the people" are still with him. "It is not too late for them to return to reason," he said on Tuesday of the defectors.