Sana’a: Yemen outgoing leader Ali Abdullah Saleh unpredictably returned home Saturday night hours after his deputy issued his first decree scheduling a date for a snap presidential election.
Saleh’s return put an end to rumors that the leaving president might leave to New York or stay in Saudi Arabia for treatment. Earlier, government media confirmed that Saleh’s return was to oversee the implementation of the GCC deal which he approved.
Abdu Rabu Mansor Hadi, Saleh’s replacement, called on Saturday for presidential election to be held February 21,next year, putting into action one of the terms of the GCC-brokered accord to end the crisis in Yemen.
“The decree stipulates that the early presidential election will be conducted under the management and supervision of the current Supreme Committee for Elections and Referendum (SCER), the election law and electoral roll.”Saba News reported.
The opposition coalition parties named Mohammed Salim Basindouh, a septuagenarian veteran politician, to be their nominee to head the unity government.
Americans back Hadi
Also, Hadi received a call from the chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama, John John Brennan, who congratulated Hadi on the approval of the deal and expressed the American willingness support to Yemen to recover from the repercussions of the crisis. According to Saba News, the American official told Mr.Hadi that the US would stand by the Yemen government in its war against al-Qaeda, adding that America would also directly sponsor the implementation of the deal.
Deaths in Taez
Two civilians were killed on Sunday in clashes between government forces and armed tribes men in the Yemen’s second largest city Taez, a protest activist told Gulf News .The tribesmen say that protect anti-regime protesters against attacks by Saleh’s forces.
“Saleh’s force shelled some areas in the city for hours, killing two. They used all kinds of weapons. Despite our objection to the GCC deal, it has zero effect on the ground.”
Thousands of anti-regime protesters went the streets of the city in protest at the Gulf deal that gives Saleh and his family prosecution from immunity.
American trained soldiers arrested
Local Yemeni media reported that government warplanes targeted rebellious armed tribesmen in the districts of Arhab, Nehem and other areas near Sana’a.
The daily Akhbar Al-Youm reported on Sunday that armed tribesmen, northern Sana’a, freed on Saturday more than one hundred counterterrorism forces, the American trained elite forces, after they pledged not to take part in any attack on the tribes .
The newspaper said the tribesmen besieged about 150 soldiers from counterterrorism squad which were airdropped and asked them to surrender. The tribesmen seized different kinds of weapons left by the forces.
