Middle East boiled yesterday after fresh air strikes in Libya, a mass protest in Syria and Yemen on the brink after top generals backed protesters battling to overthrow President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Tanks took up positions in key locations across Yemen's capital Sanaa including at the presidential palace, the central bank and the ministry of defence, but it was unclear what their orders were or who was in command.
In the first of a series of body blows to Saleh's authority, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, commander of the Northwest Military District which includes Sanaa, announced he had joined the "revolution."
"The crisis is getting more complicated and it's pushing the country towards violence and civil war," the general said in a statement.
"According to what I'm feeling, and according to the feelings of my partner commanders and soldiers... I announce our support and our peaceful backing to the youth revolution.
"We are going to fulfil our duties in preserving security and stability."
Ahmar was followed by fellow generals Mohammed Ali Mohsen, the Eastern Military district chief, Nasser Ali Shuaybi in Hadramawt province and Faisal Rajab in the southern province of Lahij.
Dozens of officers of various ranks went to the tent city near Sanaa University, where demonstrators have kept vigil since February 21 in spite of a wave of attacks, and publicly pledged to support the revolution.
The deputy speaker of parliament, Himyar al-Ahmar, and the governor of the key southern province of Aden, Ahmed Qaatabi, also resigned in protest at the treatment of demonstrators.
Sadiq al-Ahmar, who leads the Hashid tribal federation, the largest in deeply tribal Yemen and a crucial source of Saleh's power, told Al-Jazeera it was time for the embattled president to make a "quiet exit."
The defections came a day after Saleh sacked his cabinet in a bid to placate opposition calls for sweeping reforms in the key US ally.
The regime has already lost the support of religious leaders and been weakened by the resignations of ministers, ambassadors and a host of ruling party MPs, but Saleh has refused to stand down until his term ends in 2013.
He said Monday the majority of the people were behind him.
His regime was internationally condemned after more than 50 people were killed when loyalist gunmen opened fire Friday on protesters in Sanaa's University Square, the centre of the pro-democracy movement.
The defection of top military officers to the opposition is likely to complicate Washington's support for Saleh, whom it sees as a pillar of stability in a volatile country and a partner in the war against al-Qaeda.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, speaking in Cairo on Monday, strongly condemned the use of live ammunition against demonstrators in Yemen, and repeated international calls for dialogue and restraint.
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