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| Thousands have been attending the funerals of those killed in Friday's protests |
Key Yemeni General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who is close to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, says he is backing the protest movement against the regime.
Two other senior army commanders are also reported to have resigned.
President Saleh said he was "holding out" and the majority of Yemenis still supported him, Al Arabiya TV reported.
Tanks have been deployed at strategic points in the capital, Sanaa, but it was not immediately clear who was commanding them.
Some tanks took up positions outside the presidential palace, and others were seen at the central bank and the ministry of defence.
A BBC correspondent says that one by one, the pillars of President Saleh's power are being knocked away.
The military commanders who announced their resignations are from President Saleh's Hashid tribe.
One of the tribe's leaders said the Hashid were rallying behind Gen Mohsen as a possible replacement for President Saleh, the Associated Press reported.
Backing the 'youth revolution'
Meanwhile in the north, 20 people have been killed in fighting, reports say.
Fighting between Shia rebels, Yemeni troops and their tribal allies erupted over a north Yemen military site at the entrance to the northern province of al-Jawf, military and tribal sources were quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
Gen Mohsen is the commanding officer of a division of the army which has sent units to a main square in the capital, Sanaa, where protests have taken place.
"The crisis is getting more complicated and it's pushing the country towards violence and civil war," the general - who commands an armoured infantry division - said in a statement broadcast by al-Jazeera television.
"According to what I'm feeling, and according to the feelings of my partner commanders and soldiers... I announce our support and our peaceful backing to the youth revolution... We are going to fulfil our duties in preserving security and stability."
The governor of Yemen's southern province of Aden is also reported to have resigned to protest against the violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations, an official in the governor's office is quoted as saying by AFP.
On Sunday, Mr Saleh fired his entire cabinet in apparent response to protests against his rule. He asked them to stay in place in a caretaker capacity.
'Massacre'
President Saleh has faced a number of resignations by ministers and officials since the killing of at least 45 people at an anti-government demonstration on Friday.
Gunmen in civilian clothes fired on the rally in the capital's central square, in what the opposition called a massacre.
The killings prompted tens of thousands of people to turn out at the funerals of the victims.
President Saleh declared a national state of emergency, but denied his forces were behind the shooting.
A month of violence has gripped Yemen, and demonstrators reportedly gathered in other cities across the country on Friday.
Yemen is one of a number of countries in the region that have seen unrest since the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia were ousted in popular revolts.
The president has been in power for 32 years, facing a separatist movement in the south, a branch of al-Qaeda, and a periodic conflict with Shia tribes in the north.
He has said he will not seek another term in office in 2013, but has vowed to defend his regime "with every drop of blood".
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