Yemen's Opposition Meets With Government Officials

Leaders of the political opposition met on Monday with Yemen's vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, and two other senior governing party officials here in the first known meeting between the two sides since the beginning of the year.

The United States ambassador, Gerald Feierstein, had pressed both sides to meet after the attack on the presidential palace on June 3. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was seriously wounded in the attack, as were at

least five other senior officials of the governing party. The following day, Mr. Saleh and about a dozen senior political allies were transferred to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. In accordance with Yemen's Constitution, Mr. Hadi became acting president in Mr. Saleh's absence.

Both sides described the meeting as a first step toward reconciliation. The deep distrust between the parties has only grown worse since the popular uprising calling for Mr. Saleh's ouster began in January; bickering

between the two sides has been a factor in preventing a resolution to the political stalemate in Yemen, which has left the country's economy on the verge of collapse. The meeting did not necessarily indicate movement on a transition of power, or that a plan to end the crisis, which was brokered by a bloc of Persian Gulf nations and supported by Western governments, was going to be resuscitated. Meanwhile, questions continue to be raised about Mr. Saleh's health. 

Diplomats in Sana, the capital, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he is being treated, said his condition had grown worse. But a Saudi doctor was quoted by a Yemeni news agency as saying that the president was improving. Senior Yemeni officials are being kept away from him to avoid spreading the word, including at least one minister who flew to Riyadh to talk to Mr. Saleh, according to a Yemeni official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue.

Hostility between the governing party and a coalition of opposition parties known as the J.M.P. is "why he have this crisis," said ohammed Tayeb, a leading official in the governing party.

One of the coalition's leaders, Mohammed Abdel-Malik al-Mutawakil, said that the coalition "now wants to establish a link between them and us." For months, the opposition coalition had refused to meet directly with the governing party, but Mr. Saleh's departure has evidently caused a change in its stance.

After the meeting, Mr. Mutawakil said that when the opposition tried to discuss a transfer of power with Mr. Hadi, the vice president, "he wanted to avoid being frank in that issue." Mr. Tayeb said that a discussion

about a transition of power was not the purpose of the meeting. The meeting was held at Mr. Hadi's home in

Sana. The vice president has not moved into the presidential palace in Mr. Saleh's absence.

Instead, Mr. Saleh's son Ahmed Ali Saleh has moved into the palace, creating serious doubts about whether the president's elatives who hold leading positions in the armed forces have recognized Mr. Hadi's leadership or would be willing to agree to a ransfer of power from Mr. Saleh, who has been president for 33 years.

Yemen's Opposition Meets With Government Officials

Leaders of the political opposition met on Monday with Yemen's vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, and two other senior governing party officials here in the first known meeting between the two sides since the beginning of the year. 

The United States ambassador, Gerald Feierstein, had pressed both sides to meet after the attack on the presidential palace on June 3. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was seriously wounded in the attack, as were at least five other senior officials of the governing party. The following day, Mr. Saleh and about a dozen senior political allies were transferred to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. In accordance with Yemen's Constitution, Mr. Hadi became acting president in Mr. Saleh's absence. Both sides described the meeting as a first step toward reconciliation. 

The deep distrust between the parties has only grown worse since the popular uprising calling for Mr. Saleh's ouster began in January; bickering between the two sides has been a factor in preventing a resolution to the political stalemate in Yemen, which has left the country's economy on the verge of collapse. The meeting did not necessarily indicate movement on a transition of power, or that a plan to end the crisis, which was brokered by  bloc of Persian Gulf nations and supported by Western governments, was going to be esuscitated. Meanwhile, questions continue  to be raised about Mr. Saleh's health. Diplomats in Sana, the capital, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he is being treated, said his condition had grown worse. But a Saudi octor was quoted by a Yemeni news agency as saying that the president was improving.

Senior Yemeni officials are being kept away from him to avoid spreading the word, including at least one minister who flew to iyadh to talk to Mr. Saleh, according to a Yemeni official who spoke on condition of

anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue. 

Hostility between the governing party and a coalition of opposition parties known as the J.M.P. is "why he have this crisis," said Mohammed Tayeb, a leading official in the governing party.

One of the coalition's leaders, Mohammed Abdel-Malik al-Mutawakil, said that the coalition "now wants to establish a link between them and us." For months, the opposition coalition had refused to meet directly with the governing party, but Mr. Saleh's departure has evidently caused a change in its stance.

After the meeting, Mr. Mutawakil said that when the opposition tried to discuss a transfer of power with Mr. Hadi, the vice president, "he wanted to avoid being frank in that issue." Mr. Tayeb said that a discussion about a transition of power was not the purpose of the meeting. The meeting was held at Mr. Hadi's home in

Sana. The vice president has not moved into the presidential palace in Mr. Saleh's absence. Instead, Mr. Saleh's son Ahmed Ali Saleh has moved into the palace, creating serious doubts about whether the president's relatives who hold leading positions in the armed forces have recognized Mr. Hadi's leadership or would be willing to agree to a transfer of power from Mr. Saleh, who has been president for 33 years.

Yemen's Opposition Meets With Government Officials

Leaders of the political opposition met on Monday with Yemen's vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, and two other senior governing party officials here in the first known meeting between the two sides since the beginning of the year.

The United States ambassador, Gerald Feierstein, had pressed both sides to meet after the attack on the presidential palace on June 3. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was seriously wounded in the attack, as were at least five other senior officials of the governing party. The following day, Mr. Saleh and about a dozen senior political allies were transferred to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. In accordance with Yemen's Constitution, Mr. Hadi became acting president in Mr. Saleh's absence. 

Both sides described the meeting as a first step toward reconciliation. The deep distrust between the parties has only grown worse since the popular uprising calling for Mr. Saleh's ouster began in January; bickering between the two sides has been a factor in preventing a resolution to the political stalemate in Yemen, which has left the country's economy on the verge of collapse. 

The meeting did not necessarily indicate movement on a transition of power, or that a plan to end the crisis, which was brokered by  bloc of Persian Gulf nations and supported  by Western governments, was going to be resuscitated. Meanwhile, questions continue to be raised about Mr. Saleh's health. 

Diplomats in Sana, the capital, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he is being treated, said his condition had grown worse. But a Saudi doctor was quoted by a Yemeni news agency as saying that the president was improving.

Senior Yemeni officials are being kept away from him to avoid spreading the word, including at least one minister who flew to Riyadh to talk to Mr. Saleh, according to a Yemeni official who spoke on condition of

anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue.

Hostility between the governing party and a coalition of opposition parties known as the J.M.P. is "why he have this crisis," said Mohammed Tayeb, a leading official in the governing party.

One of the coalition's leaders, Mohammed Abdel-Malik al-Mutawakil, said that the coalition "now wants to establish a link between them and us." For months, the opposition coalition had refused to meet directly with the governing party, but Mr. Saleh's departure has evidently caused a change in its stance.

After the meeting, Mr. Mutawakil said that when the opposition tried to discuss a transfer of power with Mr. Hadi, the vice president, "he wanted to avoid being frank in that issue." Mr. Tayeb said that a discussion

about a transition of power was not the purpose of the meeting. 

The meeting was held at Mr. Hadi's home in Sana. The vice president has not moved into the presidential palace in Mr. Saleh's absence. Instead, Mr. Saleh's son Ahmed Ali Saleh has moved into the palace, creating serious doubts about whether the president's relatives who hold leading positions in the armed forces have recognized Mr. Hadi's leadership or would be willing to agree to a transfer of power from Mr. Saleh, who has been president for 33 years. 

Political talks open in Yemen as Saleh recovers in Riyadh

Protesters are keeping up pressure for an orderly transition of power

Yemen's ruling party has opened talks with the country's main opposition coalition following the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.

Protesters have called on the acting president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to form a presidential council to seek a solution to the crisis in country.

Yemen has been rocked by months of protests and deepening violence.

He was severely wounded in an attack on his compound on Friday.

Official sources told the BBC the talks in Sanaa between the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) and the opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Party (JMP) are the first of its kind.

The JMP includes the main Islamist Islah party, socialists, Nasserists and some newer independent parties.

The talks aim to find ways to reach a political solution, but details of the expected duration or specific areas of negotiation remain unclear, says the BBC's Lina Sinjab in Sanaa.

The move comes a day after thousands of government supporters held a rally outside the residence of the acting leader, demanding the formation of a transitional council to create a new government.

Injured leader

Meanwhile, sources close to the president say Mr Saleh may need months to recover from the burns that reportedly cover 40% of his body.

The 69-year-old was flown to the Saudi capital Riyadh for medical treatment, following a rocket attack on his presidential palace on Friday, which killed seven people and wounded senior officials in what officials said was an assassination attempt.

Aides accompanying Mr Saleh to Riyadh say he is recovering well and is in good spirits, but unable to move about. The government had earlier announced he would return within a week.

On the streets of Sanaa, life is returning to normal, our correspondent says, as a ceasefire was holding between government forces loyal to Mr Saleh and tribesman of Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar of the powerful Hashid tribe.

Over 200 people were killed and thousands forced to flee in two weeks of fighting.

Mr Saleh, who has ruled since 1978, has refused to leave office despite protests and a tribal uprising which has brought the country to the brink of civil war and resulted in more than 350 deaths.

Despite repeated promises to do so, he has refused to accept a transition plan brokered by the Saudi-led Gulf Co-Operation Council.

US officials are keen for Mr Saleh not to return to Yemen. Along with other Western powers, it fears the crisis enveloping the country might make it easier for the powerful Yemen-based wing of al-Qaeda to strengthen.

On Tuesday, the army said it had killed dozens of Islamist militants including a local al-Qaeda leader in the southern town of Zinjibar, capital of the flashpoint Abyan province.

A local official said 15 soldiers had been killed in the battles for control of the town seized by militants some 10 days ago.

Sources: Yemeni president Saleh has collapsed lung, burns over 40%

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh suffered burns on 40% of his body and has a collapsed lung, U.S. government officials briefed on the matter said, as the fate of the embattled leader -- and whether he will return to the conflict in Yemen -- remains uncertain.

Saleh was injured Friday from an attack at a mosque in his presidential compound and is seeking treatment in Saudi Arabia. An Arab diplomatic source with knowledge of Saleh's condition says one shrapnel wound is 7 centimeters (2.75 inches) deep.

According to Western diplomats, the attack came from a bomb. Yemeni investigations are "focusing on what happened inside the mosque," not a rocket or mortar attack, the diplomats said Monday. One diplomat said the bombing was not a suicide bombing and that the Yemeni investigation "is still ongoing."

But last week, a Yemeni official who asked not to be named told CNN that Saleh was in the mosque when two "projectiles" were fired during Friday prayers. Clashes between government and tribal forces have raged for weeks in Yemen, where thousands of protesters have been pressuring Saleh to give up power since January.

The fighting erupted when Saleh balked at a deal with the opposition that would have eased him out of office in 30 days. Early Tuesday, the fiercest clashes since anti-government protests began in the southern city of Taiz continued through the night, witnesses said. They cited heavy gunfire near the Republican Palace, which is less than two miles from the city's Freedom Square -- a focal point of anti-government protests.

The witnesses did not want to be identified, citing fear for their safety. The goal of the anti-government gunmen was to protect the anti-government demonstrators, who have repeatedly come under fire from security forces during the past two months. Last week, Yemen's government faced condemnation from the United Nations and others for the killing of as many as 50 anti- government demonstrators in Taiz. Yemen's largest opposition bloc has vowed to prevent Saleh from returning.

 "The Yemeni people will do all in their power to not allow Saleh to re-enter the country," Joint Meeting Parties spokesman Mohammed Qahtan said Sunday. One of the U.S. government officials said Monday he can't imagine the Saudis letting him go back. He said it is critical that the Saudis press Saleh to accept a Gulf Cooperation Council deal offering him immunity in exchange for stepping down.

 However, Saudi state-run Ekhbariya television reported Monday that Saleh had undergone two operations in Saudi Arabia and would return to Yemen after he recovers. Christopher Boucek, a Middle East expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said he doubts Saleh will return to lead Yemen. "I can't think that President Saleh is going back to Yemen to be president," Boucek said.

 "The regime still maintains that he will return, and they say he's going to return within days, if not weeks. But there's really no option I see for how he can go back and still be president."

Ali Abdullah Saleh set to return

Protesters demanded a swift transfer of power from Ali Abdullah Saleh as his deputy said the veteran Yemeni president would return within days after surgery in Riyadh for blast injuries.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Monday urged Saleh to act "in the best interest of his people" while the White House called for an "immediate transition." "His excellency is making a strong recovery and will return home in the coming days," vice president Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi said at a meeting of the ruling General People's Congress, quoted by the official Saba news agency.

In Sanaa, a fragile truce held despite a deadly sniper attack on loyalists of a powerful tribal chief blamed for Friday's bomb attack which wounded Saleh as he prayed inside a mosque in his compound. As Saleh, 69, recuperated in a Riyadh military hospital, a committee of youth activists that has been a key player behind the four- month uprising against his nearly 33 years of iron-fisted rule called for a quick transfer of power.

The committee urged "all national and political forces to begin by forming an interim presidential council." It also called for a "government of technocrats" to lead the transition. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Yemen's capital on Sunday to cheer what they saw as the end of Saleh's regime.

Impoverished Yemen's wealthy Gulf neighbours, who have been trying to broker a peaceful transition for months, said their proposal for Saleh to hand over power in return for the promise of immunity from prosecution remained the "most suitable solution." "The council member-states could activate (the proposal) and follow up on its implementation, if Yemen parties agree on it," said Gulf Cooperation Council chief Abdullatif al-Zayani, whose mediation efforts since April have repeatedly run into objections from Saleh.

The EU foreign policy chief recalled that the Yemeni president had almost signed the Gulf proposals on three occasions, and said: "He knows perfectly well what he needs to do for his people." "I trust he will do that," Ashton added. Washington also reiterated its support for the Gulf plan. "An immediate transition is in the best interests of the people," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

Britain on Monday confirmed the deployment of "military assets" near Yemen but did not verify reports that ships were on standby in the Gulf to evacuate its nationals. "As part of routine deployment UK military assets are in the region, although we are not prepared to comment further on their exact operational tasking," a ministry of defence (MoD) spokesman said. Around 80 marines were on board naval support ship RFA Fort Victoria, according to the BBC, while Sky News reported that the RFA Argus was also in the area.

The parliamentary opposition in Yemen has vowed to prevent Saleh's return to power, following a crackdown on anti-regime protests that has killed at least 200 people. "We will work with all our strength to prevent his return," parliamentary opposition spokesman Mohammed Qahtan said. "We see this as the beginning of the end of this tyrannical and corrupt regime."

The president underwent two "successful" operations on Sunday, a Saudi official in Riyadh said. "The first was to remove a piece of shrapnel from his chest, and the second was neurosurgery to his neck. "The next procedure will be for cosmetic surgical purposes. The period of convalescence is two weeks, after which he will return to Sanaa," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The embattled president, in power in Sanaa since 1978, had flown to Riyadh on a Saudi medical aircraft late on Saturday, while a second plane carried members of his family. Saudi Arabia said on Monday it had received Saleh at his request and out of religious duty. It also said it hoped the Yemeni parties would sign up to the Gulf transition plan.

Saleh's government has blamed the bomb attack on dissident tribal leader Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, whose fighters have been battling government forces in Sanaa since the Gulf plan crumbled last month. Sheikh Sadiq's office said on Sunday that he had agreed to a conditional truce at the request of the vice president under which he would withdraw his forces from public buildings which they seized during battles that killed nearly 140 people.

But even as residents reported a lull in fighting in Sanaa, snipers shot dead three of Sheikh Sadiq's supporters in the capital on Monday, a tribal source said, blaming government troops. Saleh's eldest son Ahmed, commander of the elite Republican Guard, has remained in Yemen. The opposition says Ahmed was already preparing to take over from his father before the popular uprising.

Israel sees Syrian hand in Golan clashes, 23dead

Israel accused Syria onMonday of orchestrating lethal confrontations on the once-quiet ceasefire line between the two countries as a distraction from Damascus's bloody crackdown on an 11-week-old revolt.

Syria said 23 people, including a woman and a child, were killed and 350 wounded on Sunday when Israeli troops fired on pro-Palestinian protestors who surged against the fortified boundary fence on Syria's Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said live Israeli fire had caused casualties and U.N. monitors were "seeking to confirm facts."

Israel contested the Syrian account and said President Bashar al-Assad was trying to shift world attention from the killing of at least 1,100 Syrians in anti-government revolts.

"You cannot reach the Syrian-Israeli border from the Syrian side without clear instructions and approvals from the government in Damascus," Israeli Civil Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said.

"For Assad, there is the supreme interest that these protests draw the fire and the attention from him to other directions," Vilnai told Israel's Army Radio. "He uses (the Palestinians). He simply uses them."

Sunday's protest was held to mark the 44th anniversary of the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel captured the Golan Heights, as well as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians want to establish a state.
Though Israel and Syria are technically at war, and Syria is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war of Israel's foundation, the Golan had long been quiet.

That changed on May 15, when scores of flag-waving pro-Palestinian activists flatteneda fence on the demarcation line and briefly rallied inside Israeli-controlled territory.

Rattled by the breach, Israel beefed up its defenses and warned that lethal force could be used. A Reuters reporter on the scene on Sunday saw Israeli snipers firing at demonstrators at the fence and 10 people taken away on stretchers by comrades.


LEGITIMACY

With U.S.-brokered peace efforts stalled, some Palestinians inspired by non-violent popular revolts sweeping the Arab world areseeking to adopt similar tactics against Israel.

Israeli leaders said they feared such marcheswould recur ahead of the Palestinians' campaign to secure recognition of their claim to statehood at the United Nations in September.

The official Syrian news agency SANA put Sunday's death toll at 23 and quoted Health Minister Wael al-Halki as saying a woman anda child were among the dead. Another 350 people suffered gunshot wounds, it said.

The Israeli military said it believed that a blastfrom what it said was a Syrian land mine detonated accidentally by petrol bombs thrown by protesters had caused 10 casualties. But it offered no overall figure for the dead and wounded.

Before the Golan violence, Israel had rarely censured the Assad government for its domestic crackdowns. Successive Israeli governments have sought peace with Assad, seeing his government as a possible anchor for wider Israeli-Arab accommodation.

On Sunday, Israel predicted Assad's political demise.

"I think he will fall. He has lost his legitimacy,"said Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a former prime minister who in 2000 held indirect peace talks with Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad.

"If today he stops using force, he'll be seen as weak and will be toppled. If he continues, the killing will go deeper and the cracks will begin to appear within the army as well," Barak told Israel Radio. "In my opinion, his fate has been decided."

Yemeni Leader's Exit Prompts Joy and Fear

President Ali Abdullah Saleh's sudden departure to Saudi Arabia for surgery Sundayafter he was wounded in an attack threw Yemen's political landscape into disarray as protesters saw the end of his 33-year rule and rival tribes maneuvered for power.

SAN'A, Yemen—President Ali Abdullah Saleh'ssudden departure to Saudi Arabia for surgery Sunday after he was wounded in an attack threw Yemen's political landscape intodisarray as protesters saw the end of his 33-year rule and rival tribes maneuvered for power.

Mr. Saleh's supporters insisted he planned to return to his role as president after he handed power to his vice president.

Yemenis celebrated the departure of President Saleh, who went to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. It was unclear if Mr. Saleh plannedto return.

The U.S. said it had no evidence that Mr. Salehdidn't intend to come back to rule Yemen, and urged the country to ensure any permanent transfer of power take place within the confines of the country's constitution.

During the months of protests in Yemen, American officials have been worried that a power vacuum could allow al Qaeda-linked terror groups to flourish in the country.

"Saleh out of the country is a game changer,"said April Longley Alley, a senior analyst specializing in Yemen with the International Crisis Group, an independent nonprofit group that tries to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. "It's precarious because thereis still no solid cease-fire in place [with Mr. Saleh] in order to allow a political transition to go through."

Youth opposition, which started the pro-democracy opposition movement against Mr. Saleh, celebrated in the square where protesters have been gathering for months. They danced, sang and waved flags and even slaughtered cows to give thanks, witnesses said.

Saleh, hurt in a blast inside his compound, left the country for treatment in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

But elsewhere in the capital the mood was somber as ordinary Yemeni families braced for a period of political uncertainty and possible violence if Mr. Saleh returns and resumes fighting the opposition. Shops stayed closed and most families stayed indoors in the capital.

Vice President Abdul Rabu Mansoor Hadi, who is viewed as a conciliator who won't seek power himself, ordered a halt to all clashes in San'a on both the government andthe tribal side. The government said it would remove its forces from the areas of Hasba and Hadda, where fighting had been most intense. In response, opposition tribal leader Sheikh Sadeq Ahmar, the leader of the powerful Hashid tribe, evacuated his militia from government buildings and called an end to the fight.

Analysts say that the Hashid tribe, which fought fiercely with government security forces in the past week and was instrumental in driving Mr. Saleh out of the country, won't likely seek a direct political role in any incoming government but could be instrumental in endorsing Yemen's next leader. Tribe members could also play an important role in defusing tensions and restoring stability.

Opposition figures said Mr. Saleh's arrival in Saudi Arabia, whose leadership had been pushing him hard to step down, was a chance to move forward with a political transition laid out in the failed negotiations with Persian Gulf states. "Now he is gone and we don't need his signature, thank you very much," said Yasin Iryani, co-founder of the opposition Democratic Awakening Movement in Yemen. "We are going to move forward with our plans and by the time Salehis back he will be a private citizen."

For the West, Mr. Saleh's government has been a critical, if at times exasperating, partner in battling terrorist groups with a record of attacking the West.
With his departure, one of the thorniest issues is how Al Qaeda's extensive network in Yemen will react. Although Al Qaeda members are known to be in the few hundreds in Yemen, they have exploited the tribal and rural areas of the country to set upbases and training camps.

U.S. officials are worried that as the country descends further into disorder, groups affiliated with al Qaeda could consolidate their influence in outlying areas and have more space to operate and plan attacks on the West.

The U.S., which has backed Saudi efforts to ease Mr. Saleh from power, urged Yemenis toensure that any permanent transfer of power takes place constitutionally, a stance that the White House hopes will discourage acoup that might replace one strongman with another.

Cheers, gunfights in Yemen as Saleh goes to Saudi

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounded in an attack on his palace, has flown to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, potentially offering a face-saving end to his three decade rule. Yemeni ruling party official Tareq al-Shami said that Saleh would return to the country within days, but uncertainty about whether he would be able to maintain his grip after months of protests meant the risk of further turmoil remained high. 

Some Yemenis celebrated what they hoped would be Saleh's permanent departure, but the jubilation was mixed with firefights and explosions in Sanaa, and gunbattles broke out in the city of Taiz, about 200 km (124 miles) south of the capital. "People are worried about what will happen after Saleh's departure. They're most worried about a military coup or struggles for power within the army," Farouq Abdel Salam, a resident in the southern port city of Aden, said. Acting President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi met military commanders, including Saleh's powerful sons and nephews, who remain in Yemen. Hadi also met the U.S. ambassador. 

Worries are mounting that Yemen, already on the brink of financial ruin and home to al Qaeda militants, could become a failed state that poses a threat to the world's top oil exporting region and to global security. Saleh has exasperated his former U.S. and Saudi allies, who once saw him as a key partner in efforts to combat Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, by repeatedly reneging on a Gulf-brokered deal for him to quit in return for immunity. 

President Barack Obama's top counter- terrorism aide spoke on Saturday to the Yemeni vice president, the White House said, giving no details. Washington has called on Saleh to quit. "I think this is just about the end of his match," Khalid al-Dakhil, a Saudi political analyst, said. "The Saudis are not going to bargain with him." The world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, which shares a 1,500-km (950-mile) border with Yemen, has led efforts to negotiate a peaceful handover to fractious opposition groups. 

But a Saudi-brokered ceasefire between rival clans and political elites appeared to break down on Sunday as heavy gunfire and explosions rang out in the capital Sanaa. CLASHES, CELEBRATIONS Witnesses said gunfire was heard in the Hasaba district, a focal point of fighting in recent weeks between Saleh's forces and members of the powerful Hashed tribe led by Sadeq al-Ahmar. Youths celebrated in a central Sanaa square, singing patriotic songs and dancing. Elsewhere, the capital was quiet as residents fretted about what might come next. "Our happiness will be complete once we're sure that Saleh won't come back," a resident at a local cafe said." 

In the southern city of Taiz, thousands of people celebrated Saleh's trip to Saudi Arabia with a fireworks display, but Al Jazeera reported several people were wounded in heavy gunfire. Leaving Yemen at a time of such instability, even for medical care, could make it hard for Saleh to retain power. The true seat of power, following Saleh's departure, has yet to be decided. But Saleh's eldest son, Ahmed, commands the elite Republican Guard and three of his nephews control the country's security and intelligence units. 

The Saudi royal court said Saleh had arrived to be treated for wounds suffered in Friday's rocket attack on his presidential palace -- an assault that marked a major escalation in a conflict that has been sliding toward all-out civil war. "These are the most difficult days and we're worried the coming days will be even more difficult," Sanaa resident Ali al Mujahid, 42, said. Saleh, whose Saudi medical evacuation plane was met by a senior Saudi official, walked off the aircraft but had visible injuries on his neck, head and face, a source told Reuters. 

Saleh was transferred to a military hospital after landing at King Khalid Air Base, a Saudi source said. He will have tests before surgery to remove shrapnel from his body, the source said, adding Saleh was also expected to have plastic surgery to mend wounds on his face and neck. The rocket attack, which killed seven people, devastated the government. The prime minister, two deputy prime ministers and the speakers of both parliamentary chambers are being treated in Riyadh for injuries. 

The latest violence was the bloodiest since pro-democracy unrest erupted in January and was sparked by Saleh's refusal to sign a power transfer deal. Abdulla Ali al-Radhi, Yemen's ambassador to Britain, said of Friday's attack on the palace: "The rocket was devastating. It was a clear assassination attempt against the president."

Yemen's Saleh whereabouts in question after attack

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounded in an attack in his compound, was reported by al Arabiya television Saturday to have left for Saudi Arabia , but a Yemeni official and Saudi source denied he had gone.

Any departure by Saleh could make it extremely difficult to him to return to Yemen where he is fighting a four-month uprising against his rule that has brought the impoverished country Arabian Peninsula country to the brink of civil war.

Yemen's state TV said six officials, including the prime minister and the speakers of both houses of parliament, have gone for treatment at hospitals in its Saudi neighbor.

Gulf and global powers, including Saudi Arabia have been pushing Saleh to sign a deal to step down. Leaving the country, even for medical treatment, could be seen as the first step in a transfer of leadership.

There are growing worries that Yemen, already on the brink of financial ruin and home at al Qaeda militants, would become a failed state that poses a threat to the world'slargest oil exporting region and to global security.

Residents in Sanaa faced new fears after fighting between a powerful tribal federation and Saleh's forces spread to new parts of the divided city Friday, prompting a fresh exodus of war-weary civilians.

"Saleh is still in Sanaa," a Yemeni official told Reuters.

"He had suffered minor wounds to his head and I believe his face."

'BULLETS EVERYWHERE'

Nearly 200 people have been killed in the past two weeks in urban battles with machine guns, mortars and rocket propelled grenades that caused Sanaa's airport to briefly ground flights twice and shuttered shops.

Intermittent blasts and sporadic fire fights punctuated the predawn hours in Sanaa. Roads were clogged when the sun rose by civilians fleeing violence that has engulfed more of the city.

"Bullets are everywhere, explosions terrified us. There's no chance to stay anymore," said Sanaa resident Ali Ahmed.

Spain said it is evacuating its citizens and diplomats in Yemen and Germany ordered the temporary closure of its embassy, addingto the number of countries shutting the doors on their diplomatic missions in Sanaa due to the fighting.

Friday, several Yemeni officials were injured and seven killed when shells hit a mosque in the presidential palace, state media said. Saleh's forces retaliated by shelling the homes of the leaders of a the Hashed tribal federation fighting an urban battle to oust Saleh.

Saleh, a tenacious political survivor who has clung to power for nearly 33 years, said in anaudio address late Friday that an "outlaw gang" was behind the attack, which he blamed on the Hashed tribe.

The Yemeni official told Reuters: "It's not easy for the president. He has lost people close to him and who were sitting next to him when it happened."

Nearly 400 people have been killed since a popular uprising against Saleh began in January, inspired by the movements in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled their long-standing leaders.

The battles are being fought on several fronts, with popular protests in several cities and military units breaking away from Saleh to protect the protesters.

There has also been a nearly week-long campaign in Zinjibar by locals and Saleh's soldiers to oust Islamist and al Qaeda militants who seized the southern coastal city near a shipping lane where about 3 million barrels of oil pass daily.

Yemen's Saleh injured in shelling, seven killed

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh blamed an 'outlaw gang' among his tribal enemies for a shelling attack on a mosque in the presidential compound that slightly injured him and several aides and killed sevenpeople.

The attack Friday took place amid fierce fighting in the capital Sanaa and a widening conflict elsewhere in the impoverished country, where an uprising against Saleh is challenging his nearly 33 years in power.

Global powers are worried that Yemen, home to a wing of the militant group al Qaeda known as AQAP and bordering the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia , could become a failed state and make Gulf oilshipments more vulnerable to attack.

Speaking only via audio in a televised speech Friday night, Saleh blamed the attack on the powerful Hashed tribe led by Sadeq al-Ahmarwho has been battling Saleh loyalists in Sanaa.

Ahmar later denied responsibility.
"I salute our armed forces and the security forces for standing up firmly to confront this challenge by an outlaw gang that has nothing to do with the so-called youth revolution," Saleh said. "Seven officers were martyred."

The deputy information minister said earlier that Saleh, 69, had suffered minor injuries but was in good health.

A senior diplomat said the prime minister, his deputy, the parliament speaker and otheraides were hurt in the attack.

Yemen has tipped swiftly toward civil war this week, with Hashed tribesmen battling Saleh forces in Sanaa.

More than 370 people have been killed since a popular uprising against Saleh began in January, at least 155 of them in the last 10 days.

Friday, fierce fighting engulfed the capital, where residents cowered in their homes as explosions rocked the city.

"A cowardly attack with an explosive projectile took place during Friday prayers at the presidential palace mosque where ... Saleh and senior government officials were present," state news agency Saba said.

Forces loyal to Saleh later shelled the homes of the leaders of the Hashed tribal federation,security sources said.

The United States and the European Union condemned the rising violence and urged Saleh to accept a peaceful transfer of power.

Saleh has exasperated his former U.S. and Saudi allies who had once seen him as a key partner in efforts to combat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Defying world pressure, Saleh has thrice reneged on a deal brokered by Gulf states forhim to quit in return for immunity from prosecution, even as he loses support at home.

Yemen's increasingly bloody struggle looks sure to go on as long as Saleh refuses to stepdown and it will complicate the already formidable challenge of uniting the country and rebuilding shattered state institutions in any post-Saleh era.

One constant factor is poverty. Jobs and foodare scarce, corruption is rampant and two-fifths of the 23 million people struggle to live on less than $2 a day.

11 dead in clashes between Yemeni protesters, security forces

Eleven protesters were killed during demonstrations in Sanaa and Taiz Wednesday, when Yemeni security forces in both cities opened fire using live ammunition.

Doctors and eyewitnesses in both cities tell that at least 169 people have been injured, some critically.
"Shots are heard everywhere in Sanaa," a witness told reprters.

Journalists and medical sources say eight people were killed in the capital when Republican guards began shooting directly at demonstrators in the east and north parts of Change Square. At least 65 people were injured, the sources say, 12 critically. They added that more than 100 additional people suffered injuries from rocks or batons.

"Security forces are aiming for a massacre in Sanaa," said Abdul Wahab Anesi, a medical staff spokesman at a field hospital set up in Change Square.

Before Republican Guards began firing at protesters in the square, they reportedly clashed with military personnel who had been protecting demonstrators gathered there. Journalists, medical sources and eyewitnesses tell CNN that these soldiers defected two months ago along with Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar.

In addition to the casualties in the capital, three people were killed and four others were reported critically injured in Taiz.

"The attack took place while we were chanting, 'One more week left for you, Saleh,' " said Sabir Ali, a protester in Taiz. The protesters were giving President Ali Abdullah Saleh a week to step down, saying if he does not, they will make good on a vow to march to the presidential palace.

Earlier, a senior security official denied that forces fired on protesters in Taiz.

"Security forces were preventing attacks on civilians led by gangs of the opposition," the official said. "Security forces did not shoot at protesters. Gangs of the JMP were the shooters." The JMP stands for the joint meeting parties, a coalition of opposition parties.

"Security forces kill people, then deny the incident," said Ahmad Bahri, head of the political office at the opposition Haq party. "This is why the Yemeni revolution is taking place."
He said the protesters were unarmed and were marching peacefully when they were shot. Those who died were shot in the head, Bahri said.

Civil disobedience was also seen in the cities of Abyan, Aden, Ibb, Hodeida and Amran, according to reports.

Protesters calling themselves Revolution Youth had called for a civil disobedience day on Wednesday. More than 95% of the shops in Taiz were closed, according to eyewitnesses.
On Monday, medical officials said at least six people were killed and hundreds wounded when teachers -- accompanied by opponents of Saleh's government -- demonstrated against salary cuts. Witnesses said security forces opened fire on the protesters and dispersed marchers with batons and tear gas before shooting at them.

Saleh's impoverished and unstable nation has been wracked by anti-government protests and clashes between demonstrators and security forces for many weeks.

U.S. born cleric "Al-Awlaki" targeted by U.S. military in Yemen

A U.S. military drone fired a missile within the last two days in Yemen aimed at the U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, but the strike did not appear to have killed him, a U.S. official told on Friday.
The missile was fired at an area in southern Yemen that al-Awlaki is known to have frequented.

The targeting information was not the result of information gathered from the seizure Monday of materials from Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, the official said.
A U.S. defense official confirmed that the drone was under the control of the American military -- not the CIA.

The defense official said the strike appeared to have killed two al Qaeda operatives affiliated with al-Awlaki.
Al-Awlaki was born in New Mexico and preached at a mosque in Virginia before leaving the United States for Yemen.

Early this year, a Yemeni court sentenced al-Awlaki in absentia to 10 years in prison for charges of inciting to kill foreigners.
Prosecutors charged al-Awlaki and two others with "forming an armed gang" to target foreign officers and law enforcement in November.

Western intelligence officials believe al-Awlaki is a senior leader of al Qaeda's branch in Yemen, which claimed responsibility for the attempt to ship explosives into the United States via cargo planes late last year.
U.S. officials say al-Awlaki helped recruit Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic flight as it landed in Detroit, Michigan, on December 25, 2009. The militant cleric is also said to have exchanged e-mails with accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hassan.

Last year, YouTube removed a number of video clips featuring al-Awlaki that it found to be inciting violence.
Attorneys for al-Awlaki's father, Dr. Nasser al-Awlaki, tried to persuade U.S. District Court Judge John Bates in Washington to issue an injunction last year preventing the government from the targeted killing of al-Awlaki in Yemen.

But Bates dismissed the case in December, ruling that Nasser al-Awlaki did not have standing to sue.
In a November hearing, lawyers for the U.S. government refused to confirm that the cleric was on a secret "kill list" or that such a list even exists.

Obama's counterterrorism chief, Michael Leiter, has said al-Awlaki posed a bigger threat to the U.S. homeland than bin Laden did.

But al-Awlaki is considered a long shot to replace bin Laden as leader of al Qaeda, according to terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank.

Though al-Awlaki is a powerful charismatic preacher for bin Laden's cause and an important figure within al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, he possesses none of the combat track record that al Qaeda members over the years have prized in their leaders.

Security forces open fire on protesters in Yemen

Eleven anti-government protesters were killed and more than 100 were injured Wednesday in Sanaa, Yemen, after they were attacked by security forces, two medical sources told.

"We don't have enough medicine to treat the over 100 shot by the government. We call on the international community to give us medicine to save those the government shot from dying," said a senior medical staff member at Sanaa's Change Square.

The reported attacks represent one of the deadliest days in the weeks-long protests that have pitted demonstrators against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"The language of bullets and killing is what this regime wants to spread. It's a massacre against humanity and human rights. Eleven have been killed and the number is expected to rise," the medical staff member said.

Two protesters were also killed Monday.

Over the weekend, the protests spread across 14 provinces, despite Yemeni officials saying that Saleh had accepted a deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) under which he would step down.

Both Saleh and the Yemeni opposition have agreed to the deal in principle. But Saleh has yet to sign the agreement, which stipulates he leave office within 30 days and provides complete immunity for him and those who served in his regime, said a senior Foreign Ministry official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The agreement also calls for a unity government to be formed within seven days.

The GCC -- a bloc of six oil-producing Gulf nations -- has been working to ease tensions between Saleh and an increasingly restive opposition.

Violent anti-government demonstrations have erupted for many weeks across Yemen.

Saleh has been in power since 1978 and has served as a staunch U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Ali Abdullah Saleh agrees to exit

Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's embattled President has accepted a deal brokered by neighboring Persian Gulf nations to step down.

Both Saleh and the Yemeni opposition have agreed to the deal in principle. But Saleh has yet to sign the agreement, which stipulates he leave office within 30 days and provides complete immunity for him and those who served in his regime, said a senior foreign ministry official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Mohammed Albasha, spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, said the opposition has to accept the final deal before Saleh will sign.

The agreement also calls for a unity government to be formed within seven days.

Yemen's state-run media quoted Deputy Minister of Information Abdu al-Janadi as saying that the political crisis will "have a solution which appeases all parties to take the country to a better democracy."

He told the Saba news agency that Saleh "welcomed the initiative presented by foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council and showed readiness to positively deal with it according to the Yemeni constitution."

The bloc of six oil-producing Gulf nations, known as the GCC, has been working to ease tensions between Saleh and an increasingly restive opposition.

Previously, Yemen's largest opposition group, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) bloc, had objected to the Gulf initiative for failing to state clearly that Saleh must stand down.

Even after agreeing to the deal, Saleh lashed out at the opposition, accusing them of "receiving dirty money to topple the government."

"We are very interested in preventing bloodshed because the Yemeni blood is very precious and the opposition can't drag us to killing each other," Saleh said. "Civil war will not only affect Yemen, but also the whole region and the international security.

He said the JMP was trying to grab power outside the framework of democracy.

"I am ready to quit, but according to the constitution, which stipulated change through the ballot boxes and free elections," he said.

The JMP agreed to a unity government that included Saleh's ruling General People's Congress on the condition that protests be allowed to continue on the streets, said spokesman Muhammad Qahtan.

Violent anti-government demonstrations have erupted for many weeks across Yemen and the chorus calling for Saleh's ouster has grown louder.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said he was aware of press reports around Saleh's acceptance of the GCC proposal and called on all sides to refrain from violence.

"There must be genuine participation by all sides including youth in an open and transparent process that addresses the legitimate concerns of the Yemeni people, including their political and economic aspirations and their calls to quickly bring all perpetrators of violence against protesters to justice," he said.

"A solution to Yemen's problems will not be found through security measures, including the recently adopted emergency laws."

Saleh has been in power since 1978 and served as a staunch U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He has argued he should stay in power because he is best equipped to fight Islamic militancy.

He has also said he accepts opposition demands for constitutional reforms and holding parliamentary elections by the end of the year. He promised not to run for president in the next round of elections.

But earlier this month, Saleh said he would not offer any more concessions to those demanding reforms.

Five Yemeni protesters died in Sanaa protests

The death toll from the most recent protests against the Yemeni government in Sanaa grew from two to five Wednesday and the number of injured more than doubled to more than 65, according to eyewitnesses and field medical staff.

The five victims died of gunshot wounds. Nine of the injured are listed in critical condition, according to medical staffers treating the victims.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday failed to agree on a diplomatic reaction to the crisis in Yemen as anti-government sentiment and reported violence by the regime escalated in the Middle Eastern country.

In the council's first meeting on the situation in Yemen, Germany and Lebanon introduced a statement that would have called for restraint in violence, among others.

However, a U.N. diplomat said concerns by China and Russia blocked a unified response.

Some countries wanted more time to consult their governments. One diplomat called it a sensitive issue and complex enough that council countries were reluctant to agree to a statement at the time.
On Tuesday, government forces in Sanaa and Taiz fired on crowds protesting the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing several demonstrators and wounding dozens of others, eyewitnesses and medical sources said.

Witnesses described hundreds of thousands in the two cities as the protests against Saleh's longtime rule appeared to gain strength.

"Ambulances are everywhere and the injured are laid on the ground," said Riadh Saleh, an anti-government protester in Sanaa. "They (police) shot at us directly, and the injured are hundreds."
Earlier, a huge crowd of protesters marching on a street in Sanaa included tens of thousands of women.

Saleh said last week that female protesters were violating Yemeni cultural norms that prohibit women from mixing with men who are not direct relatives. His comments angered many activists.
"We want to tell the Gulf states that their only option is to force Saleh to step down," said female activist Laila Abdul Kareem. "He is one person while we are millions."

On the small island of Socotra at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, more than 3,000 people marched against the regime Tuesday and denounced the Gulf Cooperation Council's proposal last week, which urged Saleh to transfer power to his vice president.

"No way, no way, will we agree!" the protesters chanted, according to witnesses.
CNN was not able to independently verify the witness accounts.

Field medical sources and a member of the protest organizing committee in Taiz said one protester was killed and seven injured Tuesday from gunshot wounds.

The state-run Saba News Agency did not mention the anti-government protests but said pro-government demonstrators had taken to the streets in four provinces to support Saleh and the Yemeni government.

Yemen protester says “They shot at us directly”

Government forces in Taiz and Sanaa fired on crowds of people protesting the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, leaving dozens wounded and at least three dead, eyewitnesses and medical sources said Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses described enormous demonstrations, numbering hundreds of thousands, in the two cities as the ongoing protests against Saleh's longtime rule of the country appeared to gain strength.
On the small island of Socotra at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, more than 3,000 people marched against the regime and denounced the Gulf Cooperation Council's proposal last week, in which a coalition of Persian Gulf nations urged Saleh to transfer power to his vice president.

"No way, no way, will we agree!" the protesters chanted, according to witnesses.

Field medical sources and a member of the protest organizing committee in Taiz said one protester was killed and seven injured from gunshot wounds during an enormous demonstration in Change Square.

In Sanaa, the capital, two people were killed and 37 were suffering from gunshot wounds, witnesses said.

Riadh Saleh, an anti-government protester in Sanaa, described a scene of chaos after he said the police turned their weapons on the crowd.

"Ambulances are everywhere and the injured are laid on the ground," he said. "They shot at us directly and the injured are hundreds."

Medical personnel at Sanaa's Change Square said the hurt, including those suffering from tear gas inhalation, numbered "in the hundreds and are still coming in." They issued a plea for "nearby hospitals to volunteer and help us give treatment to the injured revolutionists."

Earlier, a huge crowd of protesters marching on Zubairy Street in Sanaa included tens of thousands of women.

One female activist, Laila Abdul Kareem, declared: "We want to tell the Gulf states that their only option is to force Saleh to step down. He is one person while we are millions."
CNN was not able to independently verify the witness accounts.

The state run Saba News Agency did not mention the anti-government protests but said pro-government demonstrators had taken to the streets in four provinces to support Saleh and the Yemen government.