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Outgoing leader apologises for 'any shortcoming' in farewell speech after parliament grants him immunity from prosecution
The outgoing Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, apologised for "any shortcoming" in his 33-year rule as he left for the US on Sunday, 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.
Saleh tried to strike a conciliatory note in the farewell speech, which came a day after he was granted immunity from prosecution under a law passed by parliament.
"I ask for pardon from all Yemeni men and women for any shortcoming that occurred during my 33-year rule and I ask forgiveness and offer my apologies to all Yemeni men and women," he said. "Now we must concentrate on our martyrs and injured."
An aide to Saleh said he would spend two or three days in neighbouring Oman, but an Omani official told Reuters that the outgoing president would be in transit for only a few hours.
Saleh was granted immunity as part of a plan hammered out by neighbouring Gulf states to ease him from power. Gulf Arab and Western allies fear instability has given al-Qaida militants room to entrench themselves further in remote areas outside central government control, and Saleh leaves behind a divided country.
Thousands of Yemenis protested on Sunday against Saleh's immunity and demanded he be put on trial for the killing of hundreds of demonstrators during a year of violence that has brought the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country to the verge of civil war.
An opposition-led government, formed as part of the deal to get him out of office, is preparing for a presidential election on 21 February. The election is expected to replace Saleh with his ally and vice-president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in a power-sharing arrangement.
Saleh remains the nominal head of state until then, although he has transferred his powers to Hadi. He said on Sunday he had promoted Hadi to army general, an apparent effort to ensure the army remains the most important institution in a fragmented land of 23 million.
Many fear that, although Saleh may be gone, his supporters will continue to dominate the country.
At the capital's airport, dozens of members of Yemen's air force held a sit-in on the runway to demand the resignation of their commander, Saleh's half-brother, accusing him of corruption. Air traffic was halted and riot police with water cannon surrounded the protesters, witnesses said.
Reports from a pro-revolution website run by Saleh's arch-enemy, General Ali Mohsen, said about 600 members of the air force were taking part in the sit-in.
In his farewell speech, Saleh cited what he considered the successes of his rule, listing development, infrastructure, energy and mineral sector growth and maintaining the unity of north and south Yemen.
He said those who had died during the months of clashes were "victims of the youth revolution" and criticised opponents for attacking oil pipelines, blocking roads and cutting electricity. "I call now for reconciliation, except when it comes to terrorism," he said.
Violence between the military and al-Qaida in Yemen's south has increased in recent months, prompting Saleh's opponents to accuse him of ceding territory to Islamists to bolster his assertion that only he can prevent al-Qaida from growing.
Four militants, including a local al-Qaida leader, and one soldier were killed in fighting in Radda, 100 miles southeast of Sanaa, On Sunday, a tribal official said. Radda was taken over by a group linked to al-Qaida a week ago.
In Zinjibar, a town on the southern coast where the army has been fighting militants since May, 10 members of the Ansar al-Sharia militant group called were killed by the army, a local official said.
Interior statements report that four al-Qaida militants, a soldier and a civilian were killed when militants stormed a police outpost in Mareb province on Saturday.
The clashes happened after talks between tribal leaders and militants broke down over the Islamists' demands that 16 al-Qaida militants be freed and Islamic law enforced in the town.
In Sanaa, opposition groups not involved in the power transition deal brought thousands of their supporters onto the streets and questioned parliament's authority to approve the immunity law.
"We will continue protesting until all of the revolution's goals are achieved," Mani al-Matari, a leader of a committee set up by youths who led the protests against Saleh, said. "The parliament has no legitimacy and we are holding on to international law."