President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
gather momentum, saying the security risk in the impoverished state was extremely high.
"The Department (of State) urges US citizens not to travel to Yemen. US citizens currently in Yemen should consider departing," the US State Department said in a travel warning.
"The security threat level in Yemen is extremely high due to terrorist activities and civil unrest." The growing Yemeni protests, and a series of defections from Saleh's allies, have added pressure on Saleh to end his three-decade rule. Neither side appears willing to compromise.
"The country is on the brink of imploding," said Dubai-based security analyst Theodore Karasik. "This popular uprising is going to hit some kind of crescendo and you might have an outbreak of more violence. We might be looking at a Libya situation emerging in Yemen."
Mohammed Sabri, a leading member of the opposition Common Forum, vowed to step up anti-government demonstrations which have left at least 19 people dead since Feb. 16.
"We have called upon the people to widen demonstrations and escalate the peaceful struggle in all regions until he (Saleh) is left with one option, that is to leave," he said.