Yemen Live Blog - March 21

Yemen Live Blog - March 21

As the Yemen uprising escalates, we update you with the latest developments from our correspondents, news agencies and citizens across the globe. Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

(All times are local in Yemen GMT+3)

• Timestamp: 

  11:59pm

  Today's liveblog on Yemen finishes right here. We will continue to keep you updated on everything that's happening through the night with our new liveblog for March 22.

• Timestamp: 

  11:56pm

  Sounds of explosions and shooting were briefly heard in an area near a presidential place in Yemen's eastern port of Mukalla, residents say.

  The nature of the shooting is not clear, but residents say there could have been clashes between pro-government troops and forces loyal to a regional military commander who is among top officers who voiced support for anti-government protesters earlier today.

  Residents say the shooting has ended and there did not seem to have been any casualties.

• Timestamp: 

  11:43pm

  Yemen's defence minister Mohammad Nasser Ali read a statement on state television in Sanaa earlier this evening, saying that the army supports president Ali Abdullah Saleh and will defend him against any "coup against democracy", according to the statement. [Photo via Reuters]

• Timestamp: 

  11:15pm

  Ahmad Zaidan, an Al Jazeera correspondent who was expelled while covering events in Yemen, says president Ali Abdullah Saleh is running out of money to finance his regime.  

• Timestamp: 

  9:31pm

  Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports on the situation in Yemen: 

• Timestamp: 

  9:28pm

  Yemen's ambassador and embassy staff to the UK are the latest diplomats to join the anti-government movement. A statement to Al Jazeera says:

  The Ambassador and the diplomatic staff of the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in London would like to announce their support towards the peaceful Yemeni Revolution. 

• Timestamp: 

  8:41pm

  An update of the rapidly growing list of defections and resignations in Yemen:
  
  Army Officers:
  Brigadier Ali Mohsen Saleh, head of the North Western Military Zone
  Brigadier Hameed Al koshebi, head of brigade 310 in Omran area
  Brigadier Mohammed Ali Mohsen, head of the Eastern Division
  Brigadier Nasser Eljahori, head of brigade 121
  General Ali Abdullaha Aliewa, adviser of the Yemeni supreme leader of the army
  General Faisal Rajab, based in the southern province of Lahij
  “Dozens of officers of various ranks” – AFP
  
  Diplomats:
  Abdel-Wahhab Tawaf, Ambassador to Syria
  Mohammed Ali al-Ahwal, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
  Ambassador to Jordan
  Ambassador to Egypt
  Ambassador to Kuwait
  Ambassador to China
  Ambassador to Algeria
  Ambassador to Indonesia
  Ambassador to Iraq
  Ambassador to Qatar
  Ambassador to Belgium
  Ambassador to Pakistan
  Ambassador to Czech Republic
  Ambassador to Spain
  Ambassador to Germany
  Ambassador to Oman
  Ambassador to the UN
  Charge d’affairs to Tunisia
  Representative to the Arab League
  All embassy staff in Washington except the ambassador
  
  Local Officials:
  Ahmed Qaatabi, Governor of Yemen's southern province of Aden
  Himyar al-Ahmar, Deputy Speaker of Parliament
  Mayor of Aden
  3 MPs
  Advisor of Yemen’s premiership
  
  Tribal Leaders:
  Sheikh Sadeq bin Abdullah Bin Hussein Alahmar, the leader of Hashed tribal federation
  The As-Saadi tribe

• Timestamp: 

  8:35pm

  The Yemeni ambassadors to Germany, Oman and the chargé d’affaires in Tunisia have joined Yemen's anti-government movement. 

• Timestamp: 

  8:19pm

  The As-Saadi tribe has joined the rebels in Yemen, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports. 

  Yemen’s ambassadors to Qatar, Pakistan, Belgium and Iraq have also joined the revolution and the advisor of Yemen’s premiership has resigned.

• Timestamp: 

  8:06pm

  A girl in "Change Square" in Sanaa [Photo by Ameen Al-Ghabri - posted by Khaled Senawy (@kSenawy) via Twitter]

• Timestamp: 

  7:41pm

  The US embassy in Sanaa urges Americans in Yemen to stay indoors on Monday due to the instability in the country.

• Timestamp: 

  7:36pm

  The National Defense Council announced that "the council is in permanent session" to be familiar with the developments in the country, Yemen's state news agency Saba reports.

  Today's Council meeting - chaired by president Ali Abdullah Saleh - focused on the "developments of the political situation at the national arena and steps to maintain security, stability and social peace". [Photo Sabanews]

• Timestamp: 

  7:27pm

  The United States in a White House statement told the Yemeni government that the violence seen in Sanaa is "unacceptable".

• Timestamp: 

  7:17pm

  Britain is "extremely disturbed" by events in Yemen, prime minister David Cameron says. Cameron to the UK parliament:

  We're obviously extremely disturbed by what is happening in Yemen, particularly the recent events, and we've urged every country in that region to respond to the aspirations of its people with reform and not with repression.

• Timestamp: 

  7:11pm

  Yemen's former(!) ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Alsaidi, tells Al Jazeera:

  President Saleh should quit now in a dignified way.

• Timestamp: 

  6:25pm

  Yemen's defence minister Mohammad Nasser Ali says that the army supports president Ali Abdullah Saleh and that it will defend him against any "coup against democracy". 

   

  In the name of Allah. During these difficult moments and challenges that our nation is facing due to the crisis caused by some groups which aim for a coup against democracy and the constitution that people voted for in transparent elections- the armed forces announces that it will remain loyal to the oath, we swore in front of the nation and his highness President Ali Abdullah Saleh- to protect the constitution and the security, safety, and unity of the country. We will also continue to protect the achievements of the Yemeni people. And we will not allow any attempts for a coup against democracy and the constitution or any attempts to jeopardize the safety and security of the citizens.

• Timestamp: 

  6:02pm

  French foreign minister Alain Juppe says the resignation of the Yemeni president is now unavoidable, as unrest escalates and a wave of top military officers and envoys defected or resigned. Juppe told a news conference in Brussels:

  We say this to Yemen, where the situ:ation is worsening. We estimate today that the departure of president (Ali Abdullah) Saleh is unavoidable.

• Timestamp: 

  6:00pm

  Yemen's army will not hesitate to act against any risks to the country's constitution, the National Defence Council, comprised of the military command and president Ali Abdullah Saleh, says. The statement says:

  The armed forces will not hesitate in carrying out their duties ... and standing in the face of any coup plans against constitutional legitimacy.

  Saleh headed the meeting of the National Defence Council.

• Timestamp: 

  5:44pm

  Yemen's defence minister Mohammad Nasser Ali will read a statement soon on Yemen television about a wave of defections and resignations by top military officers and envoys, an official source told Reuters.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  5:36pm

  Minister of Foreign Affairs in the caretaker government Abu Bakr al Qirbi headed for Saudi Arabia, carrying a letter from president Saleh. Yemen's state news agency Saba says: 

  The letter is pertaining to the latest developments in the local and Arab arenas as well as the fraternal relations between the two brotherly countries.

• Timestamp: 

  5:12pm

  Hakim Al Masmari, editor in chief of the Yemen Post to Al Jazeera: We expect the fall of the regime in the next 24 hours at max.

• Timestamp: 

  5:04pm

  President Ali Abdullah Saleh says the majority of the people are behind him and that he will not step down, despite losing support of top army generals and tribal leaders. He was quoted by the state-run news agency:

  We're still here... the great majority of the Yemeni people are with security, stability and constitutional law. [...] Those who are calling for chaos, violence, hate and sabotage re only a tiny minority.

• Timestamp: 

  4:56pm

  Senior military figures, diplomats and officials in Yemen are abandoning their president of the last 32 years. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher has the latest:

• Timestamp: 

  4:21pm

  The list (see below) of people who resigned or defected from president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime is growing rapidly. The latest to join the list is Yemen’s ambassador to Egypt.

  Army Officers:
  Brigadier Ali Mohsen Saleh, head of the North Western Military Zone
  Brigadier Hameed Al koshebi, head of brigade 310 in Omran area
  Brigadier Mohammed Ali Mohsen, head of the Eastern Division
  Brigadier Nasser Eljahori, head of brigade 121
  General Ali Abdullaha Aliewa, adviser of the Yemeni supreme leader of the army
  General Faisal Rajab, based in the southern province of Lahij
  “Dozens of officers of various ranks” – AFP

  Diplomats:
  Abdel-Wahhab Tawaf, Ambassador to Syria
  Mohammed Ali al-Ahwal, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
  Ambassador to Jordan
  Ambassador to Lebanon
  Ambassador to Kuwait
  Ambassador to China
  Ambassador to the UN
  
  Local Officials :
  Ahmed Qaatabi, Governor of Yemen's southern province of Aden
  Himyar al-Ahmar, Deputy Speaker of Parliament
  Mayor of Aden

  3 MPs
  
  Tribal Leaders:
  Sheikh Sadeq bin Abdullah Bin Hussein Alahmer, the leader of Hashed tribes

• Timestamp: 

  3:49pm

  Yemen's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Ali al-Ahwal, announces his support for the protest movement calling for the ouster of president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Ahwal told AFP news agency by telephone:

  I announce my support for the youth revolution, and for change in Yemen.

• Timestamp: 

  3:00pm

  Top Yemeni tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar calls for the departure from power of president Saleh, in a phone call with Al Jazeera.

  "I announce in the name of all the members of my tribe that I am joining the revolution," Ahmar said, calling for the president "to exempt Yemen from the bloodshed and make a quiet exit."

  He added he was ready to lead a mediation "for an honourable exit" for Saleh. Ahmar heads the Hashid tribal confederation, the largest in Yemen. Tribal support is key to Saleh's continued ability to rule.

• Timestamp: 

  2:37pm

  A second Yemeni general says that he and dozens of other officers have pledged their support for the opposition seeking to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

  General Nasser Ali Shuaybi told AFP that 60 army officers from Hadramawt province, himself included, had joined the "youth revolution," and that 50 interior ministry officers had done so as well.

• Timestamp: 

  2:29pm

  General Ali Abdullaha Aliewa, Adviser of the Yemeni supreme leader of the army, resigns from his post.

• Timestamp: 

  2:17pm

  General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar has been close to Saleh for most of the 32 years that the Yemeni president has been in power.

  Al-Ahmar is a veteran of the 1994 civil war that saw Saleh's army suppress an attempt by southern Yemen to secede. He also fought in recent years against Shiite fighters in the north of the country.

• Timestamp: 

  2:12pm

  Hameed al-Qusaibi, a brigadier who stepped down earlier today, speaks to Al Jazeera:

  I respect the president because he did a lot of good things for the country - but he also brought a lot of problems.

  My role is to support the protesters and we should try to get the president to turn over his powers peacefully - we do not want our country to turn into a second Libya.

  There is a danger that it will turn violent because he has some support.

• Timestamp: 

  2:10pm

  Dozens of Yemeni military officers have publicly pledged their support for the protest movement demanding President Ali Abdallah Saleh's resignation, AFP reports.

  One by one, officers of various ranks announced their support for the protesters at the sit-in near Sanaa University, where demonstrators calling for Saleh's fall have kept vigil since February 21 in spite of a wave of attacks.

• Timestamp: 

  2:07pm

  Brigadier Nasser Eljahori, head of brigade 121, joined the protesters and asked the Yemeni president to take what he called the right decision.

• Timestamp: 

  1:43pm

  Mourad Alazani, professor at Sanaa University tells Al Jazeera:

  This comes at the right time when the regime is witnessing wide cracks in its structure. General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar is very popular - so the people across the country who were afraid to join the protesters will now not be afraid.

• Timestamp: 

  1:38pm

  The governor of Yemen's southern province of Aden resigns to protest the violent supression of anti-government demonstrations, an official in his office said.

• Timestamp: 

  1:20pm

  Mourners gather around the coffins of anti-government protesters during a funeral in Sanaa.

  Mourners buried some of the 52 anti-government protesters shot dead by rooftop snipers after Muslim Friday prayers in the Arabian Peninsula state, where tens of thousands of people have protested for weeks against Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three decades-long rule. [REUTERS]

  

• Timestamp: 

  1:16pm

  In its latest news bulletin, Yemeni state TV did not mention anything regarding the defection of Yemeni military leaders.

• Timestamp: 

  1:15pm

  Abdel-Wahhab Tawaf, Yemen's ambassador to Syria, resigns from his post and from President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling party to support the opposition movement demanding Saleh's ouster. He spoke to Al Jazeera by phone:

  I am resigning after the massacre that happened at the Taghyir (Change) Square.

• Timestamp: 

  1:00pm

  Two other army officers, Mohammed Ali Mohsen and Hameed al-Qusaibi, who both have the rank of brigadier also step down.

  All three officers belong to Saleh's Hashid tribe, which called on Saleh to step down on Sunday - dealing his desperate attempts to cling on to power a serious blow. 

• Timestamp: 

  12:48pm

  "The crisis is getting more complicated and it's pushing the country towards and violence and civil war," General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar says in a statement on Al Jazeera.

  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.

  Al-Ahmar is the most senior military officer to pledge support for the opposition, which has been agitating for weeks to end Saleh's 32-year rule over the impoverished, tribal country.

• Timestamp: 

  12:36pm

  Tanks deployed across the Yemeni capital including at the presidential palace, the central bank and the ministry of defence, after the defection of a senior general to the opposition.

• Timestamp: 

  12:17pm

  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemns the use of live ammunition in Yemen where loyalists of the president shot dead 52 people at anti-regime protests last week.

• Timestamp: 

  11:53am

  One of Yemen's most senior military officers, General Ali Mohsen Saleh al-Ahmar, says that he has joined the protest movement against President Ali Abdallah Saleh's regime.