Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Western and Arab diplomats were whisked out of the embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Yemen on Sunday as armed supporters of Yemen's embattled president surrounded the mission, a Yemeni government official said.
The envoys were driven to Ali Abdullah Saleh's presidential palace for a short meeting after two Yemeni government helicopters landed on the embassy grounds in Sanaa, said the Yemeni government official, who was not authorized to speak to the media. But despite earlier reports, the diplomats were not taken away in the helicopters, the official said.
Pro-Saleh gunmen surrounded the embassy earlier Sunday to protest efforts by Persian Gulf states to ease Saleh from office in a deal with opposition parties. U.S. Ambassador Gerald Feierstein said earlier that the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, as well as those of Britain and the European Union, were blockaded inside.
Yemeni security forces were seen near the embassy but did not try to disperse the protesters, many of whom were armed with machine guns, pistols or batons, eyewitnesses told CNN. A State Department official, who declined to be named speaking about a sensitive ongoing situation, said it appeared that the Yemeni government was behind the demonstration.
Government spokesman Abdu Ganadi said the protesters were "expressing their views peacefully," and that officials from the ruling General People's Congress were also inside the embassy.
Saleh announced Sunday night that he would only sign the agreement if opposition leaders -- who signed the pact Saturday -- re-ink the deal in a public event at his presidential palace. The president, who has ruled Yemen for more than three decades, warned that the country faced civil war if they refused.
"If they do not wise up and if they want this country to enter civil war, then they must carry the responsibility of this and carry the responsibility of the bloodshed that has ensued and will ensue if they remain hard headed," Saleh said in a televised address Sunday night.
* Four members of Yemen's ruling party have signed a the Gulf Cooperation Council proposal, according to party spokesman Tareq Shami, leaving only Saleh to make the pact official. But opposition protesters were blocking the roads to the presidential palace, Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office reported.
"We will not allow him to sign and step down in thirty days. The GCC proposal is against the will of the Yemeni people," said Sabri Ali, a Saleh supporter. "We will stand with Saleh against the criminals in the JMP and will not accept anyone to rule us expect Saleh."
Opposition officials rejected Saleh's proposal that they sign the agreement again on Sunday after putting their names on it Saturday.
"This is Saleh. His words are never trusted. No agreement is respected by him," said Mohammed Qahtan, a spokesman for the opposition movement JMP.
Tribal leaders, meanwhile, put armed gunmen on main roads in anticipation of violence.
"Yemen is lawless today and our tribes are here to ensure that safety prevails in all circumstances," said Shaef Ali Arhabi, a tribal leader from Arhab region. Arhabi said he supports the opposition, but pro-Saleh tribesman are on the streets as well.
An opposition youth leader accused Saleh of trying to weaken the JMP by making it "chase him from place to place" and predicted he would not sign in the end.
"The youth will not care if any signing takes place. Our demands are clear and Saleh will stand trial for all his crimes," activist Tawakkol Karman said.
Yemen, a key al Qaeda battleground and U.S. ally, has been roiled by protests for most of the year amid the background of anti-government demonstrations across much of the Arab world. Saleh has ruled the country for 33 years.
CNN's Jenifer Fenton, Elise Labott and Mohammed Jamjoom and Journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.
