Yemen's president orders arrest of opposition tribal leader

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered the arrest of the powerful opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar and his brothers who supported anti-government protesters demanding the end of Saleh's rule, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

"The President has ordered the public prosecution to bring dissident Sadiq al-Ahmar and his brothers to justice for waging armed rebellion against the state," the ministry said in a short news report distributed by its mobile service, Xinhua reported.