Yemen president signs deal to end crisis

YEMEN President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a Gulf initiative last night to hand over power to his deputy as part of a proposal to end months of protests that have pushed the Arab country to the brink of civil war.

Saudi state TV broadcast live images of Saleh signing the accord in the presence of Saudi King Abdullah and Crown Prince Nayef. Yemeni officials signed the accord after Saleh.

It was the fourth attempt to wrap up a power transfer accord that Saleh backed out of on three previous occasions at the last minute, fuelling turmoil.

Activists have camped in central Sanaa demanding Saleh end his 33 years of rule.

Yesterday, government troops skirmished with gunmen loyal to a powerful opposition tribal leader in the capital and some clashes were reported in the southern city of Taiz.

“The president... arrived this morning in Riyadh on a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, following an invitation from the Saudi leadership, to attend the signing of the Gulf initiative and its operational mechanism,” state news agency Saba reported earlier.

UN envoy Jamal Benomar, with support from US and European diplomats, managed to devise a compromise to implement the power transfer deal crafted by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.

Under the plan, Saleh will shift all powers to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who would form a new government with the opposition and call for an early presidential election within three months.

Meanwhile, Egyptian troops moved into streets around the interior ministry in Cairo, replacing riot police who had repeatedly clashed with protesters trying to reach the building.

The removal of the widely hated police was reportedly part of efforts to calm violence that has killed more than 30 people and wounded 2,000 in Cairo and elsewhere in six days of protests targeting the ruling military council, not the army itself.

The interior ministry, near Tahrir Square, has been the main flashpoint for clashes in which police have fired tear gas, pellets and rubber bullets at stone-throwing demonstrators.

The protesters have derided an agreement forged on Tuesday by Egypt’s ruling military council and mostly Islamist parties for a swifter transfer to civilian rule.

In another attempt to defuse tension, Sami Enan, the deputy head of the army council, said he was ready to meet youth activists driving the protests in Tahrir.