Saleh ‘sorry’ as he heads to US

OUTGOING president Ali Abdullah Saleh apologised for “any shortcoming” in his 33-year rule before leaving Yemen for the US yesterday, paving the way for a transfer of power after a year of unrest.

“God willing, I will leave for (medical) treatment in the United States and I will return to Sanaa as head of the General People’s Congress party,” he told senior party and government officials in a televised speech.

The US State Department confirmed it had given him a visa.

“The sole purpose of this travel is for medical treatment and we expect that he will stay for a limited time that corresponds to the duration of this treatment,” it said.