Sana'a: Yemen's opposition parties have announced that they will be joining young protesters attempting to bring down the country's long-time president.
On Sunday's announcement marks the second major setback in two days for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key US ally.
On Saturday, two powerful chiefs from his own tribe abandoned him, and anti-government protesters have managed to draw the largest crowds yet.
The mainstream opposition parties had thus far been reluctant to join the protests, preferring instead to wait and watch.
On Sunday, however, they said that they would hold rallies to show solidarity with the protesters.
In recent weeks, Yemen has seen daily protests, inspired by successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
A tribal leader from Hashed — the most influential tribe in Yemen — said on Saturday that he would join the youth, in the streets, to overthrow president Saleh.
Representation
"I'm announcing my resignation from the ruling party, party of corruption, and joining the revolution of the young people until this regime is toppled," Hussain Al Ahmar, a former close friend of President Saleh, said while addressing tens of thousands of tribesmen in Amran city, the stronghold of the Hashed tribe.
Although Al Ahmar is the brother of the historic head of Hashed, he was speaking on behalf of the Hashed and Bakil tribes.
Earlier this month, he said that he would send his armed tribesmen to Sana'a to protect anti-Saleh demonstrators.
Many tribal leaders from the two tribes — such as Hamoud Atef, Abdu Rabu Rajeh, and Mohammad Naji Al Shayef — asserted that that Al Ahmar was "only representing himself".
Al Ahmar's rally, which saw tens of thousands of tribesmen chanting slogans against president Saleh, came only two days after a similar rally marked protests in support of Saleh in the neighbouring province of Hajja.
Yemen is divided into three main tribes, namely Hashed, Bakil, and Madhaj. Hashed, the most influential and dominant throughout history, is the least populated tribe.
The Bakil tribe is the second most influential and is larger in numbers while the Madhaj tribe is the least influential but has the largest population.
The official head of the Hashed tribe is Sadeq Abdullah Al Ahmar, brother of Hussain Al Ahmar.
Sadeq has thus far tried to remain neutral throughout the unrest. "I'm the brother of all," he said last Monday during his father's weekly forum, when asked who he was in support of — President Saleh or the opposition.
Himyar Al Ahmar, deputy speaker of parliament and brother of Hussain said that he had thwarted an intelligence plan to assassinate opposition figures, which also included his brother Hamid Al Ahmar — the most influential detractor of president Saleh.
Himyar said in a statement early on Saturday that his bodyguards had arrested on Friday afternoon a group of armed men allegedly working for the National Security Agency (NSA) .
The group, dressed in civilian clothes and using a normal car (taxi), were allegedly collecting information about influential opposition figures — especially Hamid Al Ahmar — the statement said.
Himyar's statement added that the deputy of NSA, Ammar Mohammad Abdullah Saleh — who is also president Saleh's nephew — arrived immediately escorted by many military vehicles.
