Yemeni president in Saudi hospital with ‘extensive’ injuries from palace attack

Severe burns and shrapnel wounds – which require cosmetic surgery – reduce likelihood of Saleh returning to Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, suffered “extensive” injuries including severe burns in an attack on his Sana’a palace last week, reducing the chances that he will be able to return home after undergoing treatment in Saudi Arabia. Saleh was said on Monday to be in a stable condition in a military hospital in Riyadh after he was operated on by a Saudi-German medical team for shrapnel wounds to his face, neck and chest. Aides initially claimed he had suffered only minor injuries, but diplomatic sources estimated that he had received burns to 40% of his body. Al-Jazeera Arabic TV reported that he would require cosmetic surgery and quoted Saudi medical sources as saying he would need to recuperate for two weeks before returning to Sana’a, a timeframe which looks far too long in the current uncertain and volatile climate. The state news agency Saba reported vice-president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, now acting leader, as saying the president would return home “in the coming days” after speaking to Saleh by telephone. Yemeni opposition forces have pledged to prevent Saleh’s return. Mohammad Qahtan, spokesman for the Joint Meeting Parties, said the coalition backed the transfer of presidential powers to Hadi, but as only a temporary rather than a permanent measure. Underlining fears about instability and chaos in the country, British naval sources revealed that Royal Marines were on standby off the coast of Yemen to evacuate British citizens. The Foreign Office has advised all UK nationals to leave Yemen by commercial means. Britain has already sent 80 commandos aboard one of the Royal Navy’s support ships, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Victoria, to sit off Yemen. It will soon be joined by another RFA vessel, the landing ship Cardigan Bay, which is heading through the Suez Canal to replace the hospital ship RFA Argus. The US, Britain and its EU partners are all urging the Saudis to persuade Saleh to stand down by signing a deal drawn up by the Gulf Co-operation Council granting him immunity from prosecution and paving the way for new elections. Diplomats said the Saudis had lost patience with Saleh but that a final decision rested with King Abdullah. The Saudi cabinet appeared to signal a shift towards the western position by saying it hoped “the Gulf initiative would be signed by all parties to resolve the Yemeni crisis and … preserve the security and stability of Yemen and its unity.” The standoff over Saleh’s return has focused attention on his sons and nephews, who control key elements of the security forces. Yemeni media reported that several of them had taken part in a meeting chaired by Hadi on Monday. A Saudi-brokered truce was largely holding in Sana’a after two weeks of fighting between Saleh’s forces and powerful tribal opponents in which more than 200 people were killed and thousands fled. There was fresh fighting in the southern city of Taiz, however, where the UN said it was investigating reports that as many as 50 people have been killed in the past week. Yemen Saudi Arabia Middle East Ian Black guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 6, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.