Yemen's president offered on Wednesday to step down by the end of the year in a bid to appease mounting demands for his resignation, but opposition groups showed no sign of easing up on efforts to force him out. Weeks of protests against the 32-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the impoverished Arabian state have raised alarm in Western capitals at the prospect the country where al Qaeda has entrenched itself could fall apart.
-- Opposition, planning rallies, studies offer
-- West concerned at prospect of change
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said it was too soon to determine the outcome of the political turmoil and said Washington had not planned for an era without Saleh in office.
Saleh, whose opponents have been inspired by the fall of dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, has been an ally of Washington and of Saudi Arabia in the confrontation against al Qaeda. But the killing of more than 50 demonstrators on Friday has accelerated a wave of defections to the opposition by the elite. State news agency Saba said three people were arrested over the shootings and handed over to prosecutors.
Having tried at first to fend off calls to quit by saying he would not seek a new term in 2013, Saleh has since made greater concessions and on Wednesday offered constitutional change and elections to replace parliament and the head of state this year. "At this historic moment Yemen needs wisdom to avoid slipping into violence ... that would destroy gains and leave the country facing a dangerous fate," Saleh said in a letter passed to opposition groups in a bid to reconcile differences.
Opposition groups, which had earlier called for massive rallies in the capital Sanaa on Friday to force Saleh from power, said they were studying the offer. The letter, also sent to army commander Ali Mohsen, who has declared support for the protesters, contained a proposal to hold a referendum on a new constitution, then a parliamentary election followed by a presidential poll before the end of 2011.
Yemen borders the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, and major shipping routes. al Qaeda cells in Yemen have in the past two years attempted attacks outside Yemeni soil in Saudi Arabia and the United States. It is unclear who might follow Saleh and the country faces the danger of fragmentation. Defections including generals, tribal leaders, diplomats and ministers, gained momentum after gunmen loyal to Saleh opened fire on protesters on Friday, causing the deaths of 52 people.
Saleh sacked his cabinet and declared a state of emergency which parliament rubber stamped on Wednesday for a 30-day period. But the bloodshed has lent protests a new severity. One Wednesday, protesters carried placards saying "No to emergency rule, you butcher!" Some had begun selling T-shirts saying "I am a future martyr". "As sure as the sun is in the sky, he will go," said protester Suleiman Abdullah, 28.
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