Pro-democracy protesters are calling for Saleh’s resignation and the institution of democracy. Soldiers who have defected from the regime fired shots into the air to disperse pro-Saleh protesters who were attempting to reach the pro-democracy crowd. Saleh, taking a note from Gadhafi, has accused the protesters of being influenced by “drug dealers” and other armed groups.

Pulling a play straight from Gadhafi’s handbook ala one week ago, President Saleh is offering amnesty for those who come back into his fold. Two things: 

1. Nobody will needs your amnesty once the people of Yemen have their freedom.
2. Anybody who goes back to President Saleh would be a double crosser… a friend of none. On Saleh’s bad side for betraying him in the first place, and on the people’s bad side for betraying them in their fight for freedom. Who wants to be in that position?

In a twist, President Saleh’s royal guard has clashed with army units who have defected and are backing pro-democracy civilians. The clashes happened in to the town of Mukalla, and come a day before the “Friday of the March Forward,” where hundreds of thousands of protesters could turn out.

In a last ditch effort before Friday’s mass protests, now known as the “Friday of the March Forward”, President Saleh has promised both parliamentary and presidential elections before 2012. Considering his current predicament with mass defections and the protests hoping for hundreds of thousands to rally to the call on Friday, one can understand why Saleh is eager to appease the people of Yemen.

They are calling it the “Friday of the March Forward.” Yemeni protesters are calling for a mass march on President Saleh’s palace tomorrow to remove him from his seat as president. Enraged by the killings of protesters and emboldened by mass defections of Yemeni diplomats and generals alike, the people of Yemen are taking action. Good or bad, something big will happen in Sanaa tomorrow.

President Saleh has promised to step down come January 2012 after he organizes parliamentary elections. Protesters have said this is not enough as they continues their demands for Saleh to step down now and to institute democracy. Now, Saleh has pulled a card straight from Gadhafi’s playbook and said their would be civil war if he stepped down now… a thinly veiled threat. It is hard to predict what Saleh will do in the coming days as more and more of his diplomats and military officers abandon him and side with the people.

Major General Ali Mohsen Saleh defected today and sided with the protesters in light of recent killings by the government. Fellow top commanders Brigadier Hameed Al Koshebi, Brigadier Mohammed Ali Mohsen, Brigadier Nasser Eljahori,  and General Ali Abdullaha Aliewa followed suit in joining the people. This move is sure to galvanize protesters even further in their calls for democracy in Yemen. These defections come after a string of recent political defections including Yemen’s ambassador to the UN. President Saleh had better make this next move wisely.

UPDATE: General Nasser Ali Shuaybi and 110 other various military officers are defecting. Ouch.

President Saleh has fired his cabinet, in a surprise move. This action comes amid several high-level government official’s resignations, mass protests for over a month, and his own tribe calling for him to step down.

Abdullah Alsaidi resigned when he learned of the slaughter of 52 protesters who had been calling for President Saleh to step down. Ironically and insultingly, President Saleh has delcared today a day of mourning and blamed the protesters for the deaths of the protesters saying they had been inciting chaos.

In a recent noteworthy development, Saleh’s own tribe is calling for him to step down. He should take the hint before he ends up in the same position as Gadhafi.