Saleh may keep everyone waiting and have his say

Sana’a: Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, known for his political manoeuvring skills, seems to
be banking on prolonging talks and allowing the country to slip into chaos, something that would embolden Al Qaida and go against US interests.

A senior official close to Saleh, speaking to Gulf News on condition of anonymity, said: “Saleh can still take the right decision in the appropriate time which will satisfy the two big players, Saudi Arabia and the US.”

In focus: Unrest in the Middle East

Both the US and Saudi Arabia want a smooth transfer of power if Saleh exits. Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), who met in Riyadh on Sunday, suggested Saleh should hand over power to his deputy, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, and allow a unity government chaired by the opposition to formulate a new constitution.

Meanwhile, Salafist cleric Abdul Majid Al Raimi said on Wednesday that Yemen should not continue to combat Al Qaida if Saleh opts out.

Police attack army unit

Al Raimi hit out at the opposition for statements suggesting that a new regime would continue its partnership with the US and the West in its fight against Al Qaida. “This is against Islam,” he said.

Meanwhile, at least seven people were killed, including four policemen, who clashed with a dissident army unit, as hundreds of thousands of anti-regime protesters rallied across Yemen on Wednesday.

“Police attacked an army checkpoint in Amran province”, 170 kilometres north of Sana’a late on Tuesday, “killing one officer and wounding two soldiers”, a military official said.

The four policemen died as the security forces traded fire with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, he said.

The targeted army unit operates under the command of defected Yemeni military leader Major General Ali Mohsin Al Ahmar, who has sided with the protesters, the official said.

In the south of the country, soldiers yesterday shot dead two anti-regime protesters and wounded several others in different sectors of the port city of Aden, medics and witnesses said.

They said the army opened fire as protesters tried to set up roadblocks to enforce a general strike, which demonstrators have vowed to carry out in Aden every Saturday and Wednesday until the fall of President Saleh.

Protests swept provinces across Yemen on Wednesday in response to calls by the Youth for Change, a coalition of groups that has led anti-Saleh demonstrations since late January. The largest rally was being held in the flashpoint city of Taiz, south of Sana’a, where more than 20 people were killed in clashes with security forces earlier this month.

With inputs from AFP