Yemen President Agrees to Step Down

by IPT News  •  Nov 23, 2011 at 2:01 pm

http://www.investigativeproject.org/3306/yemen-president-agrees-to-step-down

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has signed an agreement assuring his resignation in 30 days, making him the fourth leader toppled by the Arab Spring. However, the deal has been rejected by many protesters and does not restore central government control over several breakaway provinces, particularly those facing an al-Qaida insurrection.

The Gulf initiative envisions Saleh turning over rule to his vice president in return for immunity from prosecution for corruption and the killing of hundreds of protesters during recent months of civil conflict. The new president would form a unity government with opposition figures and hold elections with 90 days. The plan also begins two years of amending the constitution, working to restore security, and a "national dialogue on the country's future," CBS reports.

Some protesters appear to be rejecting any deal, including this plan, because it ignores the "blood of martyrs" and corruption over Saleh's 33-year rule. Others are celebrating the "flight of the tyrant." Meanwhile, the security situation around the country continues to deteriorate. Shiite Iran-backed rebels in the north have seized control over two or three provinces in the north, and Islamist separatists in the south have fought alongside al-Qaida to form a new fundamentalist Islamist government.

Although Yemen is a resource-poor and underdeveloped country, chaos in the nation could have effects all over Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.

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Read More: Ali Abdullah Saleh, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula