Yemen army chiefs defect

RIVAL tanks deployed in the streets of Yemen’s capital after three senior army commanders defected to a movement calling for the ousting of the US-backed president, leaving him with virtually no support among the country’s most powerful institutions.

Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, commander of the army’s powerful 1st Armoured Division, was the most senior of the three commanders to join the opposition. He announced his defection in a message delivered by a close aide to protest leaders at Sanaa square that has become the epicentre of their movement.

Some of the tanks and armoured vehicles deployed in the square, where protesters have been camping out to call for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose forces opened fire from rooftops and killed more 40 demonstrators on Friday. Others were deployed at state TV, the Central Bank and the Defence Ministry.