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Ali Abdullah Saleh has been in serious trouble for a wee while. First there were the AQ & tribal insurgencies (though these were great for getting money & shiny new weapons from Uncle Sam). Then, as the 'Arab Spring' got going came street protests, some of which were met with violence. A few weeks back senior military commanders spoke out at rallies in support of protesters. Then came word that the US was letting it be known that they were no longer backing him. I can't help but wonder if there were fears that his continuation in power would hurt the fight against extremists in the Nth. Now it looks like he is gone. Be curious to see what follows.
Yemen | Ali Abdullah Saleh | quitting
Yemen leader to step down
April 24, 2011
Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to stand down. Photo: AFP
Yemen's embattled president has agreed to a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to step down within 30 days and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution in a major about-face for the autocratic leader who has ruled for 32 years.
The protest movement demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's immediate departure said it also accepted the latest draft of the deal but with reservations.
A day earlier, protesters staged the largest of two months of demonstrations, filling a five-lane boulevard across the capital,Sanaa, with a sea of hundreds of thousands of people. A deadly crackdown by government forces and Saleh supporters has killed more than 130 people and prompted key allies to abandon the president and join the protesters.
Advertisement: Story continues below The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes powerful Saudi Arabia, has been seeking to broker an end to the crisis in the fragile and impoverished nation on the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula.
The opposition movement, fed up with poverty and corruption under Saleh, said it objected to an article in the GCC draft that gives parliament, which is dominated by Saleh's party, the right to reject the president's resignation.
State TV reported that Yemen's foreign minister delivered the government's acceptance to mediators.
Protests continued and expanded to include a general strike.
Schools, government offices and private companies shut their doors in response to the Yemeni opposition's call for a strike aimed at putting more pressure on Saleh to step down.
Thousands of protesters kept up sit-ins at city squares in at least five provinces, while Saleh accused the opposition of "dragging the country into a civil war" in a televised speech to a military academy.
Saleh has over the past two months used violence to try to quell the unrest.
He has also offered concessions, including a pledge not to run again for president when his term is up in 2013 or allow his son to succeed him, but to no avail.
AP
April 24, 2011
Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to stand down. Photo: AFP
Yemen's embattled president has agreed to a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to step down within 30 days and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution in a major about-face for the autocratic leader who has ruled for 32 years.
The protest movement demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's immediate departure said it also accepted the latest draft of the deal but with reservations.
A day earlier, protesters staged the largest of two months of demonstrations, filling a five-lane boulevard across the capital,Sanaa, with a sea of hundreds of thousands of people. A deadly crackdown by government forces and Saleh supporters has killed more than 130 people and prompted key allies to abandon the president and join the protesters.
Advertisement: Story continues below The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes powerful Saudi Arabia, has been seeking to broker an end to the crisis in the fragile and impoverished nation on the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula.
The opposition movement, fed up with poverty and corruption under Saleh, said it objected to an article in the GCC draft that gives parliament, which is dominated by Saleh's party, the right to reject the president's resignation.
State TV reported that Yemen's foreign minister delivered the government's acceptance to mediators.
Protests continued and expanded to include a general strike.
Schools, government offices and private companies shut their doors in response to the Yemeni opposition's call for a strike aimed at putting more pressure on Saleh to step down.
Thousands of protesters kept up sit-ins at city squares in at least five provinces, while Saleh accused the opposition of "dragging the country into a civil war" in a televised speech to a military academy.
Saleh has over the past two months used violence to try to quell the unrest.
He has also offered concessions, including a pledge not to run again for president when his term is up in 2013 or allow his son to succeed him, but to no avail.
AP
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