Top Yemeni tribal leader Sadiq Al-Ahmar, leader of the Hashid tribe, on Monday called for the departure from power of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a phone call with Al-Jazeera television. The Hashid tribe is considered Yemen's most powerful tribal and includes nine clans, among them Sanhan, long a bulwark of Saleh's regime. "I announce in the name of all the members of my tribe that I am joining the revolution," Ahmar said, calling for the president "to exempt Yemen from the bloodshed and make a quiet exit."
