Sanaa: Yemenis on Wednesday urged Vice President
Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to lead a transfer of power in the
country, as President Ali Abdullah Saleh recovered in Saudi
Arabia from wounds inflicted during an attack on his palace.
Young protesters set up dozens of tents outside
Hadi`s residence in Sanaa to pressure the embattled Saleh`s
deputy to form an interim presidential council, an AFP
correspondent reported.
But soldiers from the First Armoured Division,
commanded by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, quickly took down
the tents that blocked traffic in the area, and arrested some
of the youths, the reporter said.
Ahmar`s troops have been stationed near the
demonstrators` sit-in outside Sanaa University to protect
protesters who have camped there since February.
Another group of activists, during a press
conference, also called for a national transitional council
and a government of technocrats to be formed that could amend
the constitution and oversee elections.
On Tuesday activists held protests at which they
demanded that figures from what they called the "former
regime" be banned from joining the council.
Hadi has said that Saleh`s health was quickly
improving and that he would return to Yemen within days.
A Saudi official affirmed on Wednesday that Saleh`s
health was "stable."
"The condition of the Yemeni president is stable,"
the official told AFP requesting anonymity, adding that the
veteran leader was waiting for doctors to "appoint a date for
cosmetic surgery."
PTI
