Yemeni president not returning home soon, says diplomat

"We believe he was seriously injured, he's not coming soon," the diplomat said

Last updated: September 15, 2018 | 20:08

1 MIN READ

AFP

Sana'a: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is being treated in Saudi Arabia for injuries sustained in an attack on his palace this month, is not likely to return to Yemen soon, a Western diplomat said on Thursday.

"We believe he was seriously injured ... He is not coming in the coming days, he is not coming soon," the diplomat said.

The diplomat told Reuters that a TNT bomb had been planted at the mosque, where Saleh was praying when he was injured on June 3.

Yemeni anti-government protesters raise their joint hands and shout slogans demanding the immediate end of the 32-year regime of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sana'a, Yemen, on 17 June 2011. According to media sources, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is being treated for shrapnel wounds in Saudi Arabia, will not return to Yemen. Yemeni officials, however, are insisting their leader will be in Yemen very soon.

Anti-government protesters attend the weekly Friday prayers during a rally to demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the southern city of Taiz June 17, 2011.

In this April 8, 2011 file photo, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh reacts while looking at his supporters (not pictured) during a rally supporting him, in Yemen. Yemen's president, hospitalised in Saudi Arabia after an attack nearly a month ago on his palace, has instructed his deputy to hold talks with political opponents on a deal to transfer power and end the nation's spiraling political crisis, his foreign minister said Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox