President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh.... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
The deaths of four protesters Friday in the southern city of Taiz formed a rallying cry across the country. In Taiz, where about 400 people were maimed in the earlier protests, about 100,000 people marched Saturday, blaming the local governor, chief of security and leader of the ruling party for the violence.
More than 120 people have been killed since Feb. 11 in protests inspired by popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
The official Yemeni news agency Saba said Yemen's ambassador to Qatar was recalled for consultation on the recent statement made by Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem about the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council's offer of mediation between Saleh and the opposition.
The GCC, which includes Qatar, proposed that Saleh hand over power to his deputy in return for immunity from prosecution for him and his family. Bin Jassem, earlier this week, told news hounds that "we hope to reach an agreement that includes the resignation" of Saleh.
Saleh rejected the mediation offer in a speech before tens of thousands of cheering supporters in the capital Friday. Saba said the president thanked the GCC leaders for their efforts to solve the crisis through dialogue.