Top Yemeni General Defects

Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar says he’s joined the revolution.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is probably very nervous today as his hold on power looks to be slipping away. Several government ministers and officials quit following a violent government crackdown on protesters Friday that killed at least 45 people, but Gen. Mohsen’s defection is considered significant because he previously had close ties to Saleh’s regime. The general is the commanding officer of several army units inside the capital of Sanaa, and tanks were deployed around the presidential palace following the announcement of his defection. Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, has promised not to run for re-election in 2013, but protests against his rule continue to grip the country, one of the poorest in the Middle East.