Five top Yemeni diplomats resign after government crackdown on protesters that left at least 52 people dead.
Earlier in the day three top generals in Yemen declared their support for anti-government protests Monday as a wave of officials, including the deputy speaker of parliament, announced their resignations.
One of the generals who broke ranks will order his troops to protect protesters demonstrating against the country's longtime president, he told reporters in Yemen. Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar's announcement ramps up the pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is seeing cracks in his support after 32 years in power.
At least 22 top officials announced their support for the "peaceful revolution" on Monday, the official said.
They included a provincial governor, the ambassadors to Japan, Syria and the Czech Republic, and top diplomats in the embassies in Washington and Moscow.
The ambassadors to Pakistan, Qatar, Oman, Spain and the consul general in Dubai announced their resignations together later on Monday. The envoys to China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Algeria also quit, according to a government official who is not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.
But Saleh is not showing any signs of resigning, the source said.
"I'm bracing myself for military clashes," the official said.
Saleh dismissed his Cabinet on Sunday, after the weekend resignations of two top Yemeni officials to protest a government crackdown on protesters that left 52 people dead last week.
Saleh asked the officials to stay on until a new Cabinet is appointed, according to Tareq Al-Shami, a spokesman for the country's ruling party.
Yemen's embassy in the United States said there will be an investigation into the deaths of the protesters on Friday.
"The perpetrators of this heinous act will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," the embassy said, expressing "its condolences and heartfelt sorrow for the loss of innocent lives."
Yemen's chief prosecutor has launched an investigation into the shootings in Sanaa on Friday and is questioning 17 suspects accused of orchestrating the massacre, the statement said.
Human Rights Minister Huda al-Bann resigned over the crackdown, according to an official in her office who is not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.
Abdullah Al-Said, Yemen's ambassador to the United Nations, also quit in protest. Al-Said was replaced by Abdullallah Yahya Alsalal, according to Yemen's embassy in the United States.
The resignations came amid new signs of cracks in support for Saleh.
Senior ruling party member Mohammed Abulahoum said Sunday that Saleh "should seriously consider a good, safe exit strategy" to "prepare the foundation in Yemen for a good transfer of power from him to the next authority or president."
Abulahoum "strongly" condemned Friday's violence, and in protest, has withdrawn a plan he proposed to mediate between the president and the opposition.
Members of Saleh's own tribe are also calling for him to step down, according to Yemeni ruling party officials who have asked not to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Tens of thousands of people protested Sunday outside Sanaa University in the capital, eyewitnesses said. CNN was not able to independently confirm the size of the protests.
Funerals were held Sunday for some of the people killed in attacks Friday, with bodies of the victims carried through the streets.
In addition to the fatalities, more than 100 people were hurt Friday in clashes between tens of thousands of anti-government protesters and security forces outside the university, medical officials on the scene said.
Saleh announced that a state of emergency had been declared, and he expressed his "deep regret" over the casualties.
Witnesses said the clashes began after government supporters and anti-government demonstrators threw rocks at each other. Security forces shot into the air and then into the crowd; they also fired tear gas to try to disperse the crowd, witnesses said.
Yemen has been wracked by weeks of unrest, with thousands protesting Saleh's government.
High unemployment has fueled much of the anger among a growing young population steeped in poverty. The protesters also cite government corruption and a lack of political freedom.
The president has said he will not run for another term in the next round of elections. He also has pledged to bring a new constitution to a vote by the end of the year and transfer government power to an elected parliamentary system.
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