CAIRO: According to official sources, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has left the country for Oman, before heading off to the United States after the White House agreed to grant him a visa. Saleh today addressed a gathering of statesmen and politicians wanting to bid him farewell to the nation. Interestingly, Saleh apologized for his mistakes asking the “good people of Yemen to forgive him.” For the first time in well over a year, President Saleh publicly recognized that he had been wrong on many accounts and that he was now surrendering the entirety of his powers to Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi. “Today, I leave the country in your hands.” For the people it was a refreshing change from the numerous play on words and innuendos which kept Yemen holding its breath since the signature in November of the power-transfer agreement brokered by the GCC. Today, Saleh laid out his cards, telling a stunned audience that he was leaving. But unlike scenes of sheer joy witnessed in Egypt when President Hosni Mubarak announced through Vice-President Omar Suleiman he had resigned from the presidency, Yemenis across the country remained in a state of shock; many feeling that somehow Saleh robbed them from a victory. “He got exactly what he wanted, immunity, money, and a secure retirement home in the US. We are left with no electricity, a humanitarian crisis, a surge in sectarian violence in the north and al-Qaeda in the south. Where is the victory in that? I will be content when I see the whole regime go. I want to see his sons and nephews and the rest of his loyalists on a plane. Then I will say the Revolution achieved something,” one protester in “Change Square” told Bikyamasr.com. While others prefer to remain positive, maintaining that the revolution achieved its goal, worrying report are coming from al-Dulaimi military base near Sana'a International Airport as Air Force officers were demanding the immediate departure of President Saleh's brother, commander Mohamed Saleh al-Ahmar. An altercation between al-Ahmar and an officer led to an explosion of violence which in turn prompted an insurgency movement. Several Republican Guard units have now been dispatched to control the brewing revolt and the authorities ordered the airport closure. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/DltbV Tags: Departure, Saleh, United States Section: Latest News, Yemen
