Huge Protests in Yemen Call for Transitional Government

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis have rallied in major cities throughout the country, demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down and calling for a transitional council that excludes members of the current government.

In the capital, Sana'a, a huge crowd swelled Tuesday outside the home of Yemen's acting leader, Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur Hadi - a day after Yemen's political opposition held talks with him on a possible transition plan.

Similar demonstrations were held in several other cities, Hadramawt, Hodeida, Ibb, Damar and Saada.

Mr. Saleh transferred power to his deputy after traveling to Saudi Arabia to seek medical treatment for wounds suffered in an attack on his presidential compound earlier this month. Several high-ranking Yemeni officials wounded in the attack are also being treated in Riyadh.

Yemen's state news agency said Mr. Saleh told Saudi King Abdullah by telephone Tuesday that his health is "constantly improving."

Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council met in Riyadh Tuesday to discuss how to resurrect its initiative aimed at resolving Yemen's political crisis.

The United States and Saudi Arabia are attempting to persuade Yemen's ruling party to adopt the GCC deal that would end Mr. Saleh's rule, create a unity government and conduct elections within two months. The group's efforts to help resolve the unrest stalled after President Saleh refused to sign a proposal which calls for him to eventually leave office.

In another development, Yemeni security sources say a bomb killed an army officer in a region near the southern port of Aden. Officials said the blast tore through the car of Colonel Muti'a al-Sayani while he was driving Monday.

In Washington, the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator said the U.S. is concerned Yemen's ongoing unrest could fuel connections between al-Qaida-linked militants there and al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia.

Daniel Benjamin said the United States is still cooperating with Yemen in the fight against al-Qaida despite the Gulf nation's political crisis and Mr. Saleh's absence.

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Yemen's President Is Latest To Vow Exit

SAN'A, Yemen—President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he won't run for re-election when his term ends in 2013, and that he won't attempt to pass on the presidency to his son, abruptly ending his bid to change the constitution to erase all term limits on the post.

Opposition leaders called the president's concessions insufficient and urged their supporters to join renewed mass protests Thursday. Ahead of that rally, most major commercial banks in the capital, San'a, reported large withdrawals from thousands of citizens, as fears grow that the protest will turn violent.

Separately, Jordan's largest political group, the Islamic Action Front, said it plans mass protests Friday over the appointment of a new prime minister, Maruf Bakhit, who started talks Wednesday on the formation of a new government.

Jordan's King Abdullah II has given Mr. Bakhit a mandate to introduce "true" political reforms, in an effort to damp growing anger about rising fuel and food prices, and political malaise. But the change of premier has failed to appease the Islaimic Action Front, which wants the role to be selected by popular elections.

Hamza Mansour, a leader of the party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, has rejected Mr. Bakhit's nomination, saying, "We want change of policies, not change of faces."

Other Jordanian parties, including the Communist and Baath parties, have ended participation in the popular protests.

Both Yemen and Jordan, like Egypt, have has been swept up by demonstrations following protests in Tunisia that ended the rule of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

While the size and ferocity of the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt took the region by surprise, diplomats and analysts in Yemen have long worried about Mr. Saleh's hold on power. Still, Western and Arab governments have ratcheted up aid to the impoverished country to help fight Islamist extremism.

Mr. Saleh has been an ally of Washington in its battle against al Qaeda ever since the group attacked the USS Cole in 2000 in Aden. But American officials also have worried other domestic threats have preoccupied him.

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