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At least 45 people were killed in an Al Qaeda-held town in the latest violence in Yemen and protesters took to the streets of the capital on Tuesday to demand that President Ali Abdullah Saleh stay in exile. The army said it had killed 30 Islamist militants, including a local Al Qaeda leader, in the southern town of Zinjibar. A local official said 15 soldiers had been killed in the battles for control of the town seized by militants about 10 days ago. Saleh is receiving treatment in Saudi Arabia for burns covering some 40 percent of his body, three US officials said, according to the AP. Demonstrators, who have been trying to topple Saleh for months, called for a "million-man march" in Sana'a to pile pressure on him to stay away and hand over power permanently. Yemen's acting leader, Vice President Abu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, said Saleh would return within days. Saudi officials say it is up to Saleh whether he returns home or not, but they and their Western allies may want to revive a Gulf-brokered transition deal under which the Yemeni leader would quit in return for immunity from prosecution. "Saleh's departure is probably permanent," said Robert Powell, Yemen analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "The Saudis, as well as the US and European Union, are pushing hard for him to stay in Saudi Arabia, as they view the prospect of his return as a catastrophe," he said. Agencies |
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