Three army commanders, including a top general defected saying they are now with the protesters calling for the end of Ali Abdullah Saleh's thirty year rule. <br /><br />The move came as thousands took to the streets of Sanaa on Friday to mourn the deaths of protesters killed by sniper fire. <br /><br />The most senior to defect is Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a long-time confidant of Saleh, along with Bridadiers Ali Mohsin Saleh and Hameed Al-Qushaibi. <br /><br />Also in recent days, the most prominent tribal council has thrown its lot with the protest movement and a number of newly appointed cabinet ministers have resigned. <br /><br />But will these mass defections, be enough to force a peaceful handover of power? Or in a country still recovering from years of civil war is this divide a spark for another one?<br /><br />Inside Story, with presenter Mike Hanna, discusses with guests: Hassan Nafaa, a professor and Chairman of Political Science Department at Cairo University; Khaled Fahmy, a professor and Chair of the Department of History at the American University in Cairo and in Washington DC, Mark Perry, he's a Foreign Affairs Analyst.<br /><br />This episode of Inside Story aired from Monday, March 21, 2011.
