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SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's embattled president backed away from a mediated deal that would have seen him step down in exchange for legal immunity, and his forces Saturday killed four people while pushing hundreds of anti-government demonstrators out of a square where they had been camped, witnesses said.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he did not want to sign the deal that was mediated by a bloc of neighboring Gulf countries, said his close ally, Abed al-Jundi. The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdul-Latif al-Zayyani, flew to the Yemeni capital of Sanaa to urge Saleh to sign the deal.
It was a new blow to efforts to mediate the months-old crisis between the U.S.-backed Saleh and tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding the ouster of their ruler of 32 years, inspired by protests sweeping through the Arab region.
Instead, the Gulf bloc chief al-Zayyani met with top leaders of Saleh's political party and parliamentary bloc, where he was informed that Saleh had some reservations over the deal. The Yemeni ruler had previously announced that he had agreed in principle to stepping down.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he did not want to sign the deal that was mediated by a bloc of neighboring Gulf countries, said his close ally, Abed al-Jundi. The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdul-Latif al-Zayyani, flew to the Yemeni capital of Sanaa to urge Saleh to sign the deal.
It was a new blow to efforts to mediate the months-old crisis between the U.S.-backed Saleh and tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding the ouster of their ruler of 32 years, inspired by protests sweeping through the Arab region.
Instead, the Gulf bloc chief al-Zayyani met with top leaders of Saleh's political party and parliamentary bloc, where he was informed that Saleh had some reservations over the deal. The Yemeni ruler had previously announced that he had agreed in principle to stepping down.
