Yemen's Saleh to reappear as violence grips south (Reuters)

RIYADH/SANAA (Reuters) – Wounded Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, not seen in public since an attack on his palace in early June, is well enough to return soon to Yemen and will make a media appearance within the next couple of days.

Speculation about Saleh's health and the likelihood of his return to Yemen have been rife since he was hurt in a bomb blast on June 3 in a mosque in his presidential palace. He flew to Saudi Arabia for treatment, leaving behind a country on the verge of civil war.

The president has not been seen in public since the explosion, which killed several people and wounded the prime minister, two deputy prime ministers and the speakers of both parliamentary chambers. It is not clear what role if any Saleh, under pressure to step down, sees for himself in ruling Yemen.

"He will appear within the next 48 hours despite our fear that the burns on his features and on different parts of his body will be an obstacle given that his appearance will not be as the media expects it," said Ahmed al-Sufi, the President's media secretary.

Yemen has been rocked by months of protests against Saleh's three decades of rule. Before that he was grappling with a rebellion in the north, separatist violence in the south and a resurgent wing of al Qaeda.

Sufi said Saleh was in good health and continued to direct Yemeni affairs from abroad. Saleh's deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has been at the helm while the president recovers.

A source close to the president said Saleh's condition was good enough to allow him to travel to Yemen soon.

"The bomb in the mosque was in close proximity to the president when it went off. He was really lucky to get out," the source, who was with Saleh during the attack, told Reuters.

Saleh is suffering from burns but they cover less than 40 percent of his body, the source said, addressing reports in recent weeks about the extent of his injuries.

Yemeni officials previously accused an opposition tribal coalition of shelling the palace, which it denied.

ANTI-SALEH MARCH

Last week, a Western diplomat told Reuters Saleh was unlikely to return home soon, as Saudi Arabia and the United States continue to push for a transfer of power under an existing Gulf Arab proposal for a transition in Yemen.

They fear a power vacuum and tribal warfare will be exploited by the local wing of al Qaeda to launch attacks in the Gulf region and beyond.

Tens of thousands marched in Sanaa on Sunday to demand Saleh leave power, condemning the United States and Saudi Arabia for what they saw as a failure to take a strong stand against him.

"The position of the United States and Saudi Arabia is against our revolution ... We want a transition council to be set up and for the remainders of the regime to leave," said demonstrator Imar Naji, referring to Saleh's sons who hold top military and security posts.

The proposal by Gulf Arab neighbors calls for Saleh to hand power over to his deputy, Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is acting president, as a step toward forming a new government and preparing for an election.

Ahmed Saleh, the president's son who heads the elite Republican Guards, said he backed Hadi's "efforts ... and meetings with opposition leaders and representatives of the international community to resolve the crisis..."

But he also voiced support for "constitutional legitimacy," terms often used by Saleh backers to justify his refusal to leave power, according to a statement on a Defense Ministry website.

Upon his return, President Saleh aims to propose two solutions, a source close to Saleh said.

"The first is to shift all power to the parliament and become just a figurehead," said the source. "The second will be to let a coalition government be formed and then hold early presidential elections and leave quietly."

VIOLENCE IN SOUTH

Underscoring the chaos in the country, especially in the south, an air raid on Saturday killed six militants on the outskirts of a village at the entrance to the volatile Abyan province.

A local official in Abyan told Reuters three soldiers were killed on Sunday in clashes with jihadist militants who took control of the province's capital Zinjibar in May.

Earlier, authorities detained the head of a prison and his deputy for questioning over the escape of 63 al Qaeda-affiliated inmates in the southern port city of al-Mukalla this week.

The jailbreak stoked fears militants are exploiting the unrest to gain a foothold in the impoverished state, from which they could launch attacks in the region and beyond.

Saleh's opponents say he is deliberately letting militants tighten their grip in the country to prove that only he stands in the way of an Islamist takeover.

In a sign of international unease, The U.N. Security Council voiced "grave concern" with the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, putting aside disagreements that had prevented the 15-nation body from speaking unanimously on the unrest there. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden and Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa; writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

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Yemen's Saleh said stable, Sanaa ceasefire holds (Reuters)

SANAA/JEDDAH (Reuters) – Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is in good health after an operation for injuries sustained in a rocket attack and is unlikely to undergo further surgery, a Yemeni diplomat in Riyadh said on Wednesday.

Saleh, 69, was wounded on Friday when rockets struck his Sanaa palace, killing seven people and wounding senior officials and advisers in what his officials said was an assassination attempt. He is being treated in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Saleh was initially said to have received a shrapnel wound, and his vice president was quoted on Monday as saying the president would return to Yemen within days.

Yemeni and U.S. officials said on Tuesday that Saleh was in a more serious condition, with burns over roughly 40 percent of his body.

But a senior Yemeni diplomat in Saudi Arabia said Saleh was improving and a further operation was not seen as necessary at this stage.

"I visited him yesterday evening and he was good. He talked to us and asked about the Yemeni expatriates and he is better than the others who were injured. He is very good and talks. He was sitting on a chair," said Taha al-Hemyari, head of Yemeni Community Affairs at the Riyadh embassy.

"Maybe within the next hours the supervising doctor will release a statement about his condition." Saudi newspaper al-Watan cited diplomatic sources saying another operation on Saleh was still possible.

Saudi officials say it is up to Saleh whether he returns home 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.

In the capital Sanaa, a ceasefire was holding between government forces loyal to Saleh and tribesman of Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar of the powerful Hashed tribe, who have turned against their former ally. Over 200 people were killed and thousands fled in two weeks of fighting.

But thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Yemeni vice president's residence on Tuesday, demanding the acting leader form a transitional council to create a new government.

Around 4,000 demonstrators in Sanaa, who have been demanding Saleh to step down for five months, called for a "million-man march" for him to stay in Saudi Arabia.

ROCKET ATTACK

The volatile situation in Yemen, which lies on vital oil shipping lanes, alarms Western powers and neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia, who fear that chaos would enable the local al Qaeda franchise to operate more freely there.

They see Saleh's absence for medical treatment in Riyadh as an opportunity to ease the president out of office after nearly 33 years ruling the impoverished Arab nation.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday called for a peaceful and orderly transition in Yemen. British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Tuesday urged the vice president to work with all sides to implement the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Agreement and begin political transition.

Saudi Arabia is worried by the activities of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has staged daring if not very effective attacks on Saudi and U.S. targets.

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.

Some of Saleh's opponents have accused the president of deliberately letting AQAP militants take over Zinjibar to demonstrate the security risks if he lost power.

The fighting has reduced Zinjibar, once home to more than 50,000 people, to a ghost town without power or running water.

Saleh has defied pressure to accept the transition plan brokered by the Saudi-led GCC. Three times, he has backed away from signing it at the last minute.

"The transition seems to be on track as per the GCC initiative. There will be many obstacles down the road, but without Saleh's destructive presence, we can overcome them," said Yemeni political analyst Abdul-Ghani al-Iryani.

The future of Yemen, where shifting alliances of tribal leaders, generals and politicians compete for power, is uncertain. Saleh's sons and relatives remain in the country, commanding elite military units and security agencies.

Other contenders in a possible power struggle include the well-armed Hashed tribal federation, breakaway military leaders, Islamists, leftists and an angry public seeking relief from crippling poverty, corruption and failing public services.

(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif; Writing by Jon Herskovitz and Andrew Hammond; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Yemen's Saleh 'has collapsed lung, 40% burns'

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (pictured in 2008) was injured Friday from an attack at his presidential compound. NEW: 15 are dead from clashes between Islamic militants and security forces in AbyanThe U.N. has blamed the Yemeni government for killing as many as 50 protesters in TaizSource: Saleh should accept a deal offering immunity in exchange for stepping downA U.S. official says the unrest in Yemen makes counterterrorism efforts "more difficult"

(CNN) -- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh suffered burns on 40% of his body and 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 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.

Fighting between government and tribal forces have raged for weeks in Yemen, where thousands of anti-government protesters have been pressuring Saleh to give up power since January.

The fiercest clashes since anti-government protests started in the southern city of Taiz continued early Tuesday, with battles between anti-regime gunmen and government security forces, witnesses said.

The witnesses cited heavy gunfire near the Republican Palace, not far 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.

Anti-government gunmen were trying 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.

A U.S. official said al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has a significant presence in the southern province of Abyan, also home to an Islamic militant movement that has targeted government troops in recent days.

At least 15 people have been killed in Abyan Monday night and Tuesday morning from clashes between Islamic militants and security forces, according to a security source in Abyan.

The number includes nine soldiers, four militants and two civilians in Zinjibar and other suburbs in the province, according to the source, who asked to not be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Earlier, the official said five civilians had been killed, but the source said Tuesday that at least three were actually militants.

The turmoil in Yemen reached a pinnacle Friday, when a mosque in Saleh's presidential compound was attacked. Yemen's state-run news agency SABA reported last week that three guards and an imam were killed, citing a source in Saleh's office.

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.

Supporters of Sadeq Al-Ahmar, leader of the Hashed tribe and an opponent of the Yemeni government, have been suspected in the attack at the presidential compound.

Yemeni security forces shelled Al-Ahmar's home on Friday in response to the attack, leaving 10 people dead and 35 others wounded, according to Fawzi Al-Jaradi, an official with the Hashed tribal confederation.

After Saleh went to Saudi Arabia for treatment, the tribal leader and Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi -- Yemen's interim leader -- agreed on a cease-fire, said Abdulqawi Al-Qaisi, spokesman for the Hashed leader.

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 go back.

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

A U.S. official told CNN Monday that the unrest makes U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Yemen "more difficult."

"We rely on the Yemeni government as partners," the official said. "The more the government is distracted by the political unrest, the more difficult it is for us."

The Yemeni government has had a "big impact on acquiring information on AQAP," the official said, referring to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. "If that information flow slows or stops, it inhibits our ability to gather information."

Two opposition leaders in Yemen expressed cautious support Monday for Hadi, the vice president, while Saleh is away.

"We do not have any problem if Hadi takes control of the government. He is respected by the people," said Tawakkul Karman, adding that Hadi "must use this historic moment to enter Yemen's history as a leader and revolutionary."

But she warned that if he does not "conduct immediate reforms, the youth protesters will go against him the same way they did against Saleh. It's Hadi's choice to decide which door of history he wants to go through."

Ahmed Bahri, a senior official of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties, said that if Hadi can lead peaceful change, "we welcome it. If not, he should step aside and not stall the revolution."

CNN's Nic Robertson, Elise Labott, Pam Benson, Tim Lister and Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

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In Yemen's Confused Capital: The City of the Invisible President (Time.com)

As dawn broke over Yemen's capital on Saturday morning, confusion over the condition of President Ali Abdullah Saleh after a mortar attack on his presidential compound convinced most Sana'a denizens to remain in their homes following a night filled with the sound of gunfire and shelling. Makeshift roadblocks controlled by armed neighborhood residents were put in place across major highways as well as small surface roads in an effort to contain the intense violence that Sana'a has been witness to for 11 days.

In one of the last remaining minibuses in operation in the capital, men argued over the president's condition, some even insisting that he was dead. "Just because we heard a voice on state television that sounded like Saleh's doesn't mean he's alive," said one man, referring the president's failure to appear before cameras, releasing a recorded statement instead. (See TIME's exclusive photos from the unrest in Yemen.)

While the streets remained mostly empty, trucks packed down with furniture and luggage would be seen occasionally racing out of the capital. Since fighting began, thousands of families have fled Sana'a for their ancestral villages, seeking refuge from the sometimes indiscriminate shelling. As fear and confusion tightened its grip on the city, more residents followed suit.

Later in the day, Saudi sources confirmed that president Saleh had accepted an invitation for medical treatment in the Kingdom, starkly contradicting reports that his wounds were "light." The full extent of Saleh's injuries is still unclear. He is reported to have a shrapnel wound 3 inches below his heart and to have second degree burns on his face and chest, according to the BBC. Six other top officials are going to Saudi Arabia for treatment, according to Yemen's official news agency on Saturday, including the prime minister and other high-ranking members of the ruling party. (See how the Saudis could help arbitrate peace in Yemen.)

"Should the president be incapacitated, his vice president Abd al-Rabi Mansur al-Hadi will take the reins of government. While the president remains in Sana'a, he may accept an invitation to travel to the Kingdom for medical treatment," said one Yemeni government official not authorized to speak to the press. Nevertheless, by seeking treatment in Saudi, Saleh has inadvertently caved to the pleas of millions of Yemenis who have demanded that he "get out" for more than four months of protests and violent government crackdowns.

Indeed, Sana'a seemed to catch some relief even as the rumors of Saleh's departure circulated. As night fell over the city on Saturday, a welcome silence fell on the capital. Absent were the booming artillery shells that had pounded the positions of tribal fighters opposed to Saleh government. The din had echoed through the city for the last 11 days. Residents of the Old City, enjoying consistent electricity for the first time in months, left their homes to sit in their favorite restaurants for dinner and some even felt calm even to do a bit of shopping. Old men sipping tea were discussing the success of a Saudi brokered ceasefire accept by Saleh's remaining loyalist military forces and tribesmen. They seemed to be enjoying the first quiet night in over a week.

It would not last. By 9:00 PM local time, the first explosion of several to come rang out across the capital, a dramatic announcement to the entire city that the ceasefire did not hold. "I've had enough, I've had enough," said one elderly man, hobbling home on his cane and shaking his head. (Watch Yemen's rebels in action.)

Members of Yemen's pro-democracy movement continue to remain skeptical about Saleh's whereabouts and the Saudis' motives. "This is absolutely despicable," said Jamal Nasser, spokesman for the Coordinating Council of the Youth Revolution of Change, Yemen's largest protest organization. "After all we have sacrificed, after all the lives that were lost, Saudi and Saleh are trying to dupe us again. This isn't the end. There will be more violence. Saleh isn't done yet." The president has reneged again and again on supposed deals for his departure.

Meanwhile the protesters who have taken up residence in Sana'a's Change Square have been quietly huddled in their tents in recent days, in stark contrast to the usual boisterous and jovial atmosphere of the camp. Amid the fighting between tribal warriors and Saleh's loyalists, they have been watching the mountains that surround the valley in which the capital lies. At the peaks of these mountains are artillery batteries, the same batteries that, for the last 11 days, have pounded Sana'a and the positions taken up in the city by the tribesmen. As these mountaintop guns fire on their targets, just before the boom of the shell's impact, residents of Change Square say that they can sometimes hear the hiss of shells as they fly over. "We aren't going anywhere," said Mohammed al-Hindi, a former soldier now living in the square. "But we still pray for peace," he added, nervously watching the sky.

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Protesters celebrate departure of Yemen's leader (AP)

SANAA, Yemen – Thousands of protesters are dancing and singing in the Yemeni capital Sanaa after the country's authoritarian leader flew to Saudi Arabia to receive medical treatment for wounds he suffered in a rocket attack on his compound.

The protesters slaughtered three cows Sunday to celebrate President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure. They danced and sang patriotic songs, with many in the jubilant crowd waving Yemeni flags, joyfully whistling and flashing the "V" for victory signs.

The protesters have been camping out since February to call for the ouster of Saleh, Yemen's leader of nearly 33 years.

Vice-President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi met Sunday with the U.S. Ambassador, the strongest indication yet that he is in charge.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's embattled president flew to Saudi Arabia for urgent medical care on Sunday after he was wounded by a rocket attack on his compound, raising the specter of a violent power grab in this impoverished country shaken by months of protests calling for his ouster. It was not immediately clear who was in charge.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled Yemen for nearly 33 years, had clung to power since the uprising against his rule began in mid-February. But at home and abroad, forces were rising steadily against him, culminating in the rocket strike on the mosque in his compound.

A Yemeni official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, said Saleh left with his two wives and some of his children. The official said he and others learned about Saleh's plans only after the president left. A Saudi medical official said his condition was "not good."

Saleh's government responded with brutality to the daily peaceful protests, at times shooting live ammunition into crowds of demonstrators.

The conflict turned decidedly more violent over the past two weeks when formal tribal allies of Saleh turned against him and transformed the streets of the capital Sanaa into a war zone. Other forces rose against Saleh at the same time. There were high-level defections within his military, and Islamist fighters took over at least one town in the south in the past two weeks.

Saleh was also under intense pressure to step down from his powerful Gulf neighbors, who control a large share of the world's oil resources, and from longtime ally Washington. They all fear Yemen could be headed toward a failed state that will become a fertile ground for al-Qaida's most active franchise to operate and launch attacks abroad.

Officials said Yemen's constitution calls for the vice president, Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, to take over in the absence of the president. U.S. officials said they could not confirm that power had been transferred to the vice president.

Saleh has been widely believed to be grooming his son, Ahmed, as a successor. Ahmed was believed to have stayed behind in an apparent bid to keep control, raising concern the country could be pitted into a violent power struggle.

Yemen's crisis had transformed in recent weeks from a peaceful uprising to a struggle between two of Yemen's most powerful families — Saleh's, which dominates the security forces, and the al-Ahmar clan, which leads Yemen's strongest tribal confederation. The confederation groups around 10 northern tribes.

Al-Ahmar announced the Hashid's support for the protest movement in March, and his fighters adhered to the movement's nonviolence policy. But last week, Saleh's forces moved against al-Ahmar's fortress-like residence in Sanaa, and the tribe's fighters rose up in fury. They fought pitched battles that engulfed the Sanaa in violence.

The battles reached a crescendo Friday when a rocket slammed into the mosque in the presidential compound during a prayer service, killing 11 bodyguards and seriously injuring five top officials who were worshipping along with Saleh. The five officials wounded were taken to neighboring Saudi Arabia for care.

The president delivered an audio address hours after the attack, his voice labored, with only an old photo shown. His failure to appear in public despite repeated promises raised speculation that his injuries were more severe than acknowledged.

Worried their peaceful movement was being co-opted by the tribal forces, protesters in Taiz and Sanaa issued a joint statement demanding the formation of a transitional council comprising civilians "whose hands are not stained with blood."

After news spread that Saleh had left the country, an activist and a witness said military forces in the southern port city of Aden had withdrawn from checkpoints. Elsewhere in the south, armed gunmen stormed buildings in Taiz, prompting protesters to form committees to try to keep the peace.

Saleh's departure likely means his rule is over, said Christopher Boucek, a Yemen expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"I'd hate to rule anything out for President Saleh," Boucek said, noting that Saleh is a proven political survivor who has often beat overwhelming odds. "But I can't see how he can come back and still be president."

Saleh arrived in Saudi Arabia around 1 a.m. and was immediately taken to a nearby military hospital, according to a Saudi medical official, who described the president's condition as "not good." The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, did not elaborate.

Sheik Mohammed Nagi al-Shayef, a tribal ally, said he met the president Saturday evening at the Defense Ministry compound in the capital.

"He suffered burns, but they were not serious. He was burned on both hands, his face and head," al-Shayef told The Associated Press. He said Saleh also was hit by jagged pieces of wood that splintered from the mosque pulpit. About 200 people were in the mosque when the rocket struck, he said.

Friday's rocket attack was the first direct strike against Saleh in nearly four months of protests. The fighting between rebellious tribesmen and government forces has left more than 130 people dead over the last two weeks.

Even before the uprising began, Yemen was already the poorest Arab country in the Middle East and the government's authority did not extend far outside the capital. It faced opposition from rebellious Shiites in the north on the border with Saudi Arabia and a secessionist revolt in the south. The regime was also trying, with strong U.S. military help, to fight al-Qaida.

The government has since lost control of some remote provinces, and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and other Islamist extremists have exploited the turmoil to bolster their position.

Saleh's departure will not necessarily end the crisis in Yemen.

For one thing, fighting could continue between the tribal forces and pro-regime units led by loyal members of Saleh's inner circle. In his more than three decades in power, Saleh administered an elaborate patronage system to ensure the loyalty of military officers and some of those beneficiaries would be tempted to continue the fight in the hope of keeping the perks they had enjoyed under the president.

If Saleh's departure causes the regime to collapse, tribal chieftains would want to take credit for the ouster of the regime and get a dominant role in the country's future. Given the conservative politics of tribal leaders, that could well place them on a collision course with the youth groups that have for months staged peaceful demonstrations in Sanaa and across much of the country to demand Saleh's ouster and political reforms.

Saleh, who is in his late 60s, had agreed to transfer power several times, only to step back at the last moment. Analysts said it appeared unlikely Saleh would return to Yemen: The Saudis have tried repeatedly to persuade him to step down and now he is in their care, large segments of the population oppose him, and a powerful tribal alliance took up arms against him.

"Saleh was an inconsistent partner in the war against al-Qaida," said Rick Nelson, a counterterrorism expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "But at least he was partner part of the time."

John Brennan, President Barack Obama's national security adviser, spoke with the Yemeni vice president by telephone on Saturday, a White House official said, but offered no details. Brennan had traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss the crisis during a three-day visit to the Gulf that ended Friday.

Saleh's arrival in Saudi capped a flurry of conflicting reports about his whereabouts and condition that spread after Yemeni government officials and opposition tribal leaders said Saudi King Abdullah had mediated a cease-fire and invited Saleh to seek treatment in the neighboring kingdom. Past cease-fires have not held, but no fighting was reported in Sanaa on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia called "on all parties to exercise restraint and use reason" to keep the country from "sliding into more violence and fighting."

Although the U.S. long stood by Saleh, the Obama administration has been trying to negotiate a stable exit for him as the situation grew more unstable and government forces continued to crack down on dissent, with more than 150 protesters killed since the uprising began in mid-February.

___

Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb and Ben Hubbard in Cairo and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report.

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Yemen's Saleh likely out of power this year: report (Reuters)

DUBAI (Reuters) – President Ali Abdullah Saleh is unlikely to stay in power through 2011 but violence in Yemen will increase while he clings on, a report said on Wednesday.

Global powers have been pressing Saleh to sign a Gulf-mediated deal to step down and stem spreading chaos in civil-war-threatened Yemen, a haven for al Qaeda militants and neighbor to the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.

"Saleh is unlikely to survive 2011 as president of Yemen; however the likelihood of a managed transition is decreasing, and an attempt to forcibly oust Saleh from power is becoming more likely," the Eurasia Group said in a report.

This week, there have been three main flashpoints in the country -- fighting in the capital, government troops gunning down protesters in Taiz in the south and a battle with al Qaeda and Islamic militants in the coastal city of Zinjibar.

The political risk think-tank said the most likely outcome for the crisis is for Saleh leaving power through a political deal he brokers from a position of weakness, or being ousted by force by breakaway military groups and tribal leaders.

The report cautioned: "Saleh leaving power early does not result in a functional Yemeni state that can reassert control over the country in the short term."

Saleh, a wily politician who has ruled the impoverished country for nearly 33 years, has faced months of street protests calling for his ouster while his forces have battled powerful tribal groups who have aligned themselves with the protesters.

GULF NEIGHBOURS EXASPERATED

Members of his military and government started to abandon him in March after his troops killed dozens of protesters.

The breakaway military groups have called on others in the army to join them in opposition to the government but have not engaged in any major fighting with forces loyal to Saleh.

Saleh has also exasperated his rich Gulf Arab neighbors by three times agreeing to step down, only to pull out of a power transition plan at the last minute.

Analysts are worried that the instability in Yemen could embolden the al Qaeda wing in the country, which has targeted the United States and Saudi Arabia.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a ceasefire between Saleh's forces and a powerful tribal group, after street fighting between the two last week killed at least 115 people.

"The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about the reports of excessive use of force by Yemeni security forces against unarmed demonstrators in Taiz and the escalating fighting in Sana and other cities leaving scores of civilians dead, wounded and displaced," he said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Lou Charbonneau at the United Nations)

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