A group of Yemeni politicians left a newly formed opposition council, exposing divisions in the anti-government movement in a country convulsed by months of violent protests.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh is clinging to power despite a wave of demonstrations against his 33-year rule in the volatile Arab nation.
The opposition has struggled to unite into a strong movement and Saleh has so far defied international pressure to step down.
The 143-member National Council was formed on Wednesday by two opposition groups in a bid to consolidate their fledgling movement.
But today, two dozen of its members announced they were quitting in a row over representation.
Despite their move, the National Council elected Mohammed Basindwa, a key opposition leader and former foreign minister from the southern port city of Aden, as its president.
They said they quit because of unequal representation between members from the south and the north of the country in the council.
North and South Yemen united under Saleh in 1990 but southerners often accuse the north of discrimination.
Popular protests against Saleh erupted this year during uprisings that ousted the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt.
Saleh, in power since 1978, said on Tuesday he would soon return home from Saudi Arabia where he is recovering from a June assassination attempt in which he was wounded.
Opposition groups have tried to unite and form transitional government councils in the past, but so far their attempts have been patchy, pointing at an increasingly fragmented movement.
One of the two groups that formed the latest council, the JMP, is an eclectic grouping of Islamists, socialists and tribal elements.
It spent weeks trying to broker Saleh's exit and in May signed a deal drawn up by the Gulf Cooperation Council which sought to end the veteran leader's rule.
The impoverished country of 23m, at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has been in turmoil since January when protesters took to the streets demanding Saleh leave office.
