Yemen president says will leave power in coming days (Reuters)

SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Saturday he would leave power in the coming days, the closest the veteran leader has come to announcing he plans to step down after nine months of mass protests against his 33 year rule.

"I reject power and I will continue to reject it, and I will be leaving power in the coming days," Saleh said in a speech on state television.

Saleh has been clinging to his position while opposition and ruling party representatives cast about for a formula to see through a transition-of-power deal.

"I call on my supporters to persevere and to confront any challenge," Saleh said.

Protests against Saleh's rule have paralyzed Yemen, weakening government control over swathes of the country and fanning fears al Qaeda's regional wing may use the upheaval to expand its foothold near shipping routes through the Red Sea.

Saleh has thrice backed out of signing a Gulf-mediated power transition deal. The opposition says the government is holding up negotiations after Saleh's return from Saudi Arabia, where he had gone for treatment after a June assassination attempt.

(Reporting by Erika Solomon)

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Yemen protesters set up transitional council (Reuters)

SANAA (Reuters) – Yemeni protesters formed a transitional council of opposition figures on Saturday to lead efforts to try to force President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power.

Youth groups, which have been at the forefront of more than five months of protests against Saleh's three decade rule, told a news conference that the 17 member council would include former Yemeni President Ali Nasser Mohammed and leaders of several opposition groups, including exiles.

They named General Abdullah Ali Aleiwa, a former defense minister, as their choice for armed forces commander.

An official from an anti-Saleh coalition of mainstream opposition parties, said the Joint Meeting would not support the new council. The coalition has also called for a transitional body.

"This council does not reflect (the views) of the Joint Meeting, because we have a different plan. It only represents those who set it up," Hamid Assim, deputy secretary-general of an Arab nationalist opposition party, told Reuters.

Saleh, who is in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment following an assassination attempt in June, has backed out three times from a Gulf-brokered plan to ease him from power.

Saudi Arabia, a conservative Muslim absolute monarchy, does not want to see people power bring political change on its borders. It has long been Saleh's main financial backer, and Saleh may not stand down until Riyadh demands it.

Separately, a Yemeni deputy minister said on Saturday that the United Arab Emirates had pledged 3 million barrels of oil to Yemen, which faces a fuel crisis due to attacks on a pipeline during the widespread political unrest.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; writing by Firouz Sedarat; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

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U.S. official meets Yemen president Saleh in Riyadh (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism official, John Brennan, urged Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Sunday to sign a transition plan that will lead to Saleh's departure.

Brennan met Saleh in the Saudi capital Riyadh, where Saleh had flown for medical treatment after the June 3 attack on his presidential compound.

Veteran leaders in Egypt and Tunisia bowed to popular pressure to resign, but Saleh has refused to do so and has hung on to power despite international pressure and six months of protests against his 33-year rule.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement that Brennan wished Saleh a speedy recovery and reiterated U.S. condemnation of the attack against him.

He called on Saleh to fulfill quickly his pledge to sign a Gulf-brokered deal for a peaceful handover of power in Yemen.

"Mr. Brennan emphasized the importance of resolving the political crisis in Sanaa so that the Yemeni government and people can successfully confront the serious challenges they face, including the terrorist attacks carried out by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of Yemeni citizens," Carney said.

He said Brennan told him the United States is working closely with Yemen's allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Europe, and elsewhere to ensure that much needed assistance will flow to Yemen as soon as the GCC proposal is signed and implemented.

"The United States believes that a transition in Yemen should begin immediately so that the Yemeni people can realize their aspirations," said Carney.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, Editing by Sandra Maler)

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