However, progress on the deal crafted by Yemen's Gulf Arab neighbors showed no signs of ending the bloodshed that has stained 10 months of protests against Saleh, with at least 13 civilians and government troops dying in the country's commercial capital of Taiz, a hotbed of anti-Saleh demonstrations.

An official of the Joint Meeting Parties, a bloc of opposition parties that signed the power transfer plan in Riyadh, said they had settled on a division of Cabinet seats between themselves and Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC).

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Saleh's party would take portfolios including defense, foreign affairs and oil, while the opposition would get the interior, finance and education ministries.

The prospective government would lead the country to a presidential election that Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the vice president to whom Saleh has transferred his powers, has set for Feb. 21, 2012.

Opposition sources also said they had given Hadi a list of their choices for a military council tasked with running the army until a new president is elected. The list includes former defense and interior ministers, and army commanders who turned on Saleh.

Under the Gulf initiative signed by Saleh, a body will be set up to restructure the armed forces. Saleh's son Ahmed commands the Republican Guard, one of the best equipped units.