Sana’a - Loyalists to wounded President Ali Abdullah Saleh celebrated reports that he would soon return to Yemen, but opponents said they were working to ensure that, even if he does, he will no longer be in power.
US and Yemeni officials have said Saleh, 69, was burned on 40 percent of his body in a rocket or bomb attack at his palace last Friday - injuries which, depending on the depth of wounds, could be fatal and would probably curb his ability to rule.
Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for three decades, has not been seen since being flown for surgery to Saudi Arabia.
But after months of factional violence and pro-democracy protests, he has resisted Western and Arab pressure to step down and a government website dismissed dire assessments of Saleh's condition, said his injuries were minor and announced on Thursday that preparations for his return were under way.
“He has overcome the health difficulties after successful surgery to remove shrapnel... Sources expected him to return soon after completing his recovery and treating some light surface burns,” the government website said.
Opposition figures said their main concern was for Saleh to transfer his powers, regardless of whether he returned.
Even before the wave of pro-democracy protests, Saleh was struggling to quell a separatist rebellion in the south and a Shi'a insurgency in the north.
Mohammed al-Mutawakkil of the coalition of opposition parties said the opposition had informed Saleh's ruling General People's Congress party on Wednesday that it would seek to establish its own transitional assembly after one week if action was not taken on transferring power to his deputy, Ab-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was named acting president on June 4.
“More important than Saleh's return is that the ruling party transfers power and begins implementing the Gulf initiative,” he said, referring to a Gulf Arab plan for Saleh to begin a power transfer which stalled in the days before he was wounded.
Political analyst Ali Seif Hassan said he was not convinced by state media reports that Saleh was about to come back but said that his return could help cement a new order.
“I'm not worried if he comes back since the important thing is that he signs an agreement to transfer power, whether he does that in Sanaa or Riyadh,” he said.
The Yemeni government website said preparations were being made around the country to welcome back Saleh, who wavered between accepting Arab and international calls for him to step down and accusing his opponents of staging a coup.
Army units and supporters were heard in many areas of the capital Sanaa firing shots in the air overnight in celebration and the General People's Congress said it would organise a “Friday of Loyalty” demonstration after Friday prayers.
The site described statements by US and Yemeni officials that Saleh's health was in a dire state as fabrications, saying he was being treated for burns to his face and had had shrapnel removed from his chest. - Reuters