In addition, the main tribal leader, Sheikh Sadek al-Ahmar, asked President-for-Life Saleh
... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence...
, in power for 32 years to retire, adding his voice to those of traditional and religious leaders, whose role is determining in this poor country of 24 million inhabitants.
Two regions commanders, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, head of the north-east which includes the capital Sanaa, and General Mohammed Ali Mohsen, head of Eastern Military District, declared themselves in favor of the protesters.
Their defections were the first of this magnitude in the ranks of the army.
Despite these defections, President Saleh, 68, said the "majority of the people" supports him.
"The vast majority of the Yemeni people is favorable to security, stability and constitutional legality. And those who call for chaos, violence, hatred and sabotage are a tiny minority," assured the President in Sana'a.
The dispute has gained momentum after the death of 52 people killed in an attack Friday against protesters in Sanaa. The killings attributed to supporters of the regime marked the bloodiest day since the end of January in protest.
This massacre was condemned Monday by UN Secretary General
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon, visiting Cairo. "The Yemeni government has an obligation to protect civilians," said Ban, supporting a "comprehensive dialogue". The U.S. administration has informed the Yemeni government that violence in recent days in Sanaa was "unacceptable."
Previously, General al-Ahmar, from the most influential tribe in the country, had accused, on Al-Jazeera, the head of state to "repress peaceful protesters" and "push the country towards civil war."
In Sanaa, dozens of officers have announced their allegiance to a crowd of protesters who still braved on the University Square a ban on demonstrations to demand the departure f President Saleh.
In the morning, tanks were deployed in the center of the capital, especially around the presidential palace, the seat of the ruling General People's Congress (GPC), the Department of Defense and the Central Bank.
In Aden (south), the second largest city, General Chouaibi has supported the protest, along with 60 officers in the province of Hadramaut, and 50 officers from the Ministry of Interior. And the governor of the province, Ahmad Qaatabi, submitted his resignation.
The defections have multiplied these days, forcing the president Saleh to sack the government on Sunday night, after the resignation of three ministers.
The ambassadors of Yemen in Soddy Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and at the vaporous Arab League also announced on Monday to join the protest movement against President Saleh.
Five ambassadors of Yemen in Europe have written to the president asking him to resign, according to the Yemeni ambassador in La Belle France, Khaled al-Akwa.
The departure of President Saleh is "indispensable" found on his side the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppe.