Protest an inner issue, no foreign help needed: Yemen Prez

Sanaa, May 26: The United States asked its non-emergency personnel and family members of US government employees to leave Yemen as the civil unrest intensified in last two days after the President refused to resign his post.

The US State Department has also warned Americans against travelling to Yemen after 44 people killed since Monday, May 23, in the ongoing protest against the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"The security threat level in Yemen is extremely high due to terrorist activities and civil unrest. There is ongoing civil unrest throughout the country and large-scale protests in major cities," the State Department said.

"The Department of State has ordered all eligible family members of US government employees as well as certain non-emergency personnel to depart Yemen. US citizens currently in Yemen should depart while commercial transportation is available," the statement said.

The fight between the members of the Hashid tribal group and government troops intensified in the capital city of Sanaa as the President Ali Abdullah Saleh refused to resign and make way for a national unity government. Media reported that tribal groups have taken control of several public buildings in Sanaa.

However, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Wednesday, May 25, that he is willing to sign a deal to leave office but only if there is a peaceful framework for doing so. But just few hours after this statement, Ali took a U-turn and declared that he "will not leave power and leave Yemen."

Meanwhile, United States President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron asked Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down from power.

"We expressed our joint concern of the deteriorating situation on the ground there. We applauded the leadership of the Gulf Cooperation Council in seeking an orderly and peaceful resolution of the crisis and we call on president Saleh to move immediately on his commitment to transfer power," Barack Obama said.

While commenting on Gulf Cooperation Council's call to step down within a month after 33 years in office and hand over power to a unity government, Ali Abdullah Saleh said that the conflict is an internal matter and he do not want a foreign intervention in Yemen.

"We do not want any foreign intervention or solution from outside of Yemen. It is a Yemeni issue. We should go into dialogue with all political sides. A solution will come from us and not from the outside," Ali Abdullah Saleh said.

OneIndia News