Yemen president met with top general who defected

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh held meetings over the past 48 hours with a top general who defected to protesters who are demanding the president's immediate resignation, a presidential media aide said on Friday.

"In the past 48 hours, there were meetings between the president and (General) Ali Mohsen," Saleh's media secretary Ahmed al-Sufi told Reuters. "Ali Mohsen clarified why he did what he did, and requested assurances that nothing would happen against him."

Saleh appeared on Friday in front of a huge crowd of his supporters and said he was willing to quit, though he wants to ensure authority is transferred to safe hands first.

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis marched on Friday in two divided camps: one calling for the "departure" of President Saleh and one calling for "tolerance" and acceptance of a president's pledge to step down at the end of the year.

The opposition has dismissed Saleh’s offer to stand down after a presidential election at the end of the year as a political maneuver to gain time before he reneges on his words. They vowed to ratchet up their rallies on “Friday of Departure" to force Saleh to step down immediately.

On the opposite camp Saleh's supporters reportedly travelled to the capital Sanaa from different cities to rally on what they called "Friday of tolerance."

The mass protests by the two opposing camps, each supported by a section of a divided army, raised fears it may take a bloody turn.

Defected general Mohsen who has thrown his weight behind the protesters said he had no desire to take power.

Yassin Noman, head of Yemen's opposition coalition, dismissed Saleh's offer as "empty words" and a spokesman said the umbrella coalition would not respond.

"No dialogue and no initiatives for this dead regime," opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry said.

General Ali Mohsen, who sent troops to protect pro-democracy protesters in Sanaa, said the options before Saleh were now few, and criticized what he described as his "stubbornness", but said the armed forces were committed to protecting protesters.

He said military rule in Arab countries was outdated and that the people would decide who would govern them in the framework of a modern, civilian state. "Ali Mohsen as an individual has served for 55 years and has no desire for any power or position," he told Reuters. "I have no more ambition left except to spend the remainder of my life in tranquility, peace and relaxation far from the problems of politics and the demands of the job."

No dialogue and no initiatives for this dead regime

opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry

Post-Saleh concern

Mohsen, commander of the northwest military zone and Saleh's kinsman from the al-Ahmar clan, is the most senior military officer to back the protests, and his move on Monday triggered a stream of defections in the military and government.

Saleh offered amnesty to defecting troops in a meeting with senior commanders, calling their decisions foolish acts taken in reaction to violence in Sanaa last Friday, when 52 protesters were shot dead.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Saleh and Mohsen were hashing out a deal that would involve both men resigning within days in favor of a civilian transitional government. But there was no confirmation from senior officials.

An umbrella group of civil society organizations called for a transitional council of nine figures "not involved with the corruption of the old regime" to draw up a new constitution over a six-month period ahead of elections.

But the issue of what happens to Saleh, who came power in the north in 1978 and oversaw unity with the south in 1990, was left untouched in the proposal from the 'Civil Bloc'.

Opposition parties said on Thursday they were tired of the drip-feed of concessions. "This talk is aimed at delaying the announcement of the death of the regime. The opposition does not need to respond," said spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry.