Yemeni president agrees to step down in 30 days
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Tens of thousands of Yemeni anti-government protesters gather for a demonstration calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 22, 2011. [Xinhua/Yin Ke] |
Yemen has witnessed three-month-old anti-government protests demanding an immediate end to the 33-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, undermining the security and stability of the country.
Saleh has already admitted losing control of several provinces and warned of civil war and national split if he is forced to step aside.
The president, in a speech before a crowd of his supporters in Sanaa on Saturday, renewed "his warnings of civil war could be triggered by the opposition in case of hindering reconciliation."
"We will not allow the JMP to drag Yemen into civil war and bloodshed," Saleh was quoted by state Saba news agency as saying.
Saleh re-called on youth-led street protesters to form a political party according to the constitution.
Sporadic clashes, marches and civil disobedience are reportedly took place on Saturday in the country's major provinces of Aden, Tazi, Ibb, Al-Hodayda, Abyan, Hadramout, Hajja, Saada and the capital Sanaa.
"If the opposition hindered the Gulf plan, then the GCC foreign ministers, European and U.S. mediators would then suggest a last solution for all Yemeni rival political parties through holding a popular referendum about whether President Saleh to leave immediately or stay in office until his term expired in 2013," an unnamed senior government official told Xinhua on Saturday.
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