With Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh losing support from key allies in the military, the atmosphere of protests in the streets of Sana'a and other Yemeni cities has heightened significantly in the past week. Since the Middle East uprising spread to Yemen with the "First Day of Rage" on Feb. 2, Saleh had promised he will not seek to extend his 32-year long reign past 2013 when his current term is set to expire. Later, on March 22, he said he would leave after organizing parliamentary elections by next January. But on the streets of Yemen that's not enough: They want Saleh gone -- now.
Here, a crowd of anti-government protesters carries a military defector through the streets of Sana'a, the capital city, on March 23.
A Yemeni protester kisses a soldier who has defected in Sana'a on March 23.
A week ago, the story was quite different. On March 17, Yemeni anti-government protesters clashed with security forces loyal to the president in Taiz, a city south of the Sana'a.
March 18 was a bloody day in Yemen's capital. More than 45 people were killed after military snipers opened fire on a demonstration. Here an anti-government protester shows his blood-covered hands after pro-regime loyalists and police forces opened fire on the protesters.
Since February, protests in Yemen have grown larger and more violent. Saleh has called for dialogue and offered to draw up a new constitution -- outreaches that have been mainly rejected by the opposition. Here, at a protest in Sana'a on March 17, a Yemeni protester is thrown into the air as those around him chant slogans against Saleh.
Yemen has a young population -- 43 percent of its people are 14 or younger -- and its revolts, like so many others in the Middle East, have been fueled by discontented youths. Here young Yemeni children peak through holes in a national flag during protests in Sana'a on March 17.
Crowds gathered at a sit-in at Sana'a University after Friday prayers on March 18, leading to some of the worst violence seen there since protests began. Government snipers killed 52 protesters and Saleh subsequently declared a state of emergency restricting movement in the country and the right to gather and giving police increased power. Here, one of over 100 protesters wounded on March 18 is helped away by fellow demonstrators.
Saleh's hold became even more tenuous on March 21, as several high-level officials, including the country's senior military commander, Brig. Gen. Ali Mohsin al-Ahmar, and some of his soldiers abandoned the president and began to support the protesters. With the country's defense minister continuing to support Saleh and his own son holding an important role in the military, some were worried about a dangerous fracture among the armed forces. Here, Yemeni soldiers search a man as they stand guard near anti-government protests on March 22 in Sana'a.
Facing a potential military coup, on March 22 Saleh threatened his growing list of opponents with civil war. Here Yemeni armored personnel carriers are deployed outside Sana'a's Central Bank on March 21 after some of the country's top generals joined the revolt.
Al-Ahmar's defection has been hailed as a "turning point" by Yemen experts, including Edmund J. Hull, U.S. ambassador to the country from 2001 to 2004. Hull said that Al-Ahmar's decision shows that "the military overall...no longer ties its fate to that of the president."
Above, people in Aden gather to greet defective soldiers on March 22, a day after many in the army pledged support for the protesters against Saleh.
A Yemeni anti-government protester performs the noon prayers during the March 19 Sana'a demonstrations where thousands rallied despite Saleh's declared state of emergency.
Protesters, such as these in Sana'a on March 22, continue to call for Saleh's ouster. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said from Russia on March 22that the United States was concerned about Yemen's instability. "We consider Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is largely located in Yemen, to perhaps be the most dangerous of all the franchises of Al Qaeda right now."
A young girl looks on while female Yemenis perform the noon prayer during a demonstration in Sana'a on March 19.
