A general who has sided with anti-regime protests said in an interview published Saturday that Yemen will be safer without embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh in its fight against al-Qaida.

General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar accused the Yemeni president, who is being treated in the Saudi capital for bomb blast wounds, of nurturing the jihadist network in a ploy to "blackmail" foreign countries.

The White House significantly toughened its stance on Syria on Friday, calling for an "immediate end to brutality and violence" and warning President Bashar Assad was leading his nation on a "dangerous path."

White House spokesman Jay Carney issued a statement after Syrian forces killed at least 25 people in nationwide democracy protests and as security forces launched a long-feared crackdown on the northwestern flashpoint town of Jisr al-Shughur.

Israeli police briefly entered the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound after Friday prayers and fired tear gas towards stone-throwing youths, police and mosque officials said.

"After prayers some of the Arab youths started throwing stones," a Jerusalem police spokeswoman said.

Turkey has offered Moammar Gadhafi guarantees to leave Libya but has yet to receive a reply, as rebels say loyalist forces killed 20 people in a fierce assault on Misrata.

Fresh NATO-led strikes sent up plumes of smoke Friday in Tripoli, where the strongman has his residence and headquarters.

Libya's embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi appears to have written to the U.S. Congress to praise its criticism of President Barack Obama over NATO raids on Libya, officials said Friday.

In the letter seen by Agence France Presse, Gadhafi comments on growing debate in Congress over whether Obama has usurped his constitutional authority by committing U.S. forces to the conflict without authorization by lawmakers.

Sudan's army has launched repeated air strikes on the southern army in Unity state in a bid to seize oilfields there weeks before the south's independence, a southern army spokesman said Friday.

Philip Aguer, spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) of the south, said the SPLA was on "maximum alert" and strengthening its defensive positions, fearing the start of an invasion to seize the oilfields.

Syrian troops launched Friday a long-feared crackdown in the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour, as at least 22 civilians were shot dead by security forces when thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets across Syria under the slogan "Friday of the Tribes."

Protesters poured on to the streets of main towns and cities after the weekly Muslim main prayers, many chanting slogans against President Bashar al-Assad and in support of residents of Jisr al-Shughour.

Pro- and anti-regime activists held rallies on Friday as loyalists celebrated news that Yemen's president was out of intensive care in Riyadh after treatment for bomb blast wounds.

Opponents of President Ali Abdullah Saleh intensified their pressure to form an interim ruling council, agreeing on seven names from across Yemen to be presented to Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi as candidates.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates piled pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad on Friday, saying his very legitimacy was on the line after the "slaughter of innocent lives".

"The slaughter of innocent lives in Syria should be a problem and concern for everybody," Gates said after a speech in Brussels.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Syrian regime of perpetrating an "atrocity" against anti-government demonstrators, the Anatolia news agency reported Friday.

"I talked to Mr. Assad (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) four or five days ago. ... But they underestimate the situation," Erdogan told Anatolia.