Presidential guards loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh clashed today in the eastern town of Mukalla with army troops that are backing opposition groups and protesters.
A local government official in Mukalla told Reuters that a colonel was injured in the clashes, but it was not clear which side he was on. General Ali Mohsen, commander of forces in northwestern Yemen, said earlier this week he had defected to the side of protesters who are demanding Saleh's immediate resignation.
As violence has been escalating in Yemen during the past week, Saleh has taken on emergency powers -- barring protests and giving security forces far-reaching powers of arrest. Yemeni opposition leaders have called for a march on Saleh's presidential palace in Sanaa after Friday Prayers on March 25.
Saleh has offered to leave office early -- but only after organizing parliamentary or presidential elections to be conducted by January 2012. The opposition has rejected Saleh's offer as "insincere."
compiled from news agency reports
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A local government official in Mukalla told Reuters that a colonel was injured in the clashes, but it was not clear which side he was on. General Ali Mohsen, commander of forces in northwestern Yemen, said earlier this week he had defected to the side of protesters who are demanding Saleh's immediate resignation.
As violence has been escalating in Yemen during the past week, Saleh has taken on emergency powers -- barring protests and giving security forces far-reaching powers of arrest. Yemeni opposition leaders have called for a march on Saleh's presidential palace in Sanaa after Friday Prayers on March 25.
Saleh has offered to leave office early -- but only after organizing parliamentary or presidential elections to be conducted by January 2012. The opposition has rejected Saleh's offer as "insincere."
compiled from news agency reports
Upheaval In Arab World
Upheaval In Arab World
Voices
As Qaddafi Advances, Hope And Fear Reign In Benghazi
Bahrain Blogger Says Arab World Shares 'Same Anger'
Former Australian PM Howard Hails Absence Of 'Contrived Element' In Mideast Protests
Gene Sharp, The 'Clausewitz' Of Nonviolent Resistance
Beleaguered Egyptian Opposition Leader Says 'Freedom Is Infectious'
Background And Analysis
Libyan Operation Spurs Debate On Limits To Intervention
Why Don't More Countries Recognize The Libyan Rebels?
Uprisings Divide Islamic Clerical Establishment
What Are The World's Options On Libya?
Tribal Dynamics Set Libya Apart From Neighbors
Exporting Nonviolent Revolution, From Eastern Europe To The Middle East
Khamenei Praises Arab Revolts As Iran Crushes Its Own Protests
Liveblog
"Echoes Of The Uprisings"