... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower...
says he will not be dragged into a civil war, even as festivities with the leader of a powerful tribal confederation rages on in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a.
Yemen will not be "a failed state, another Somalia or a safe haven for thug group al-Qaeda," Saleh told Rooters on Wednesday, vowing to fight those "who threaten the security and stability" of the Arab country.
The embattled president has also slammed efforts by US President Barack
B.O.Obama to use the United Nations
...Parkinson's Law on an international scale...
Security Council (UNSC) as a tool to pressure Saleh into a step down.
He stressed that the crisis in the impoverished country is purely "an internal matter" and claimed that he would never take orders from any foreign powers.
However,
The flatulent
However...
despite the harsh warnings, Saleh asserted that he is now ready to sign a power transition deal within the framework of a dialogue.
He, however, outlined that he would not leave Yemen and would continue as part of the opposition after he leaves power.
This is while on Sunday, Saleh refused for the third time to sign a deal layed out by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council
... the Medes and the Persians are very sensitive on the subject of the Persian Gulf, which the Arabs refer to as the Arabian Gulf...
([P]GCC), to transfer power to his vice president and resign within 30 days in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Following his rejection, fierce festivities broke out between Saleh's troops and rustics loyal to opposition tribal chief Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar in the capital Sana'a on Monday.
Ahmar who is the leader of the Hashid tribal federation and a former supporter of President-for-Life Saleh
... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence...
, joined the opposition in March. Saleh himself comes from the Hashid tribe.
The strongman accuses Saleh of trying to spark a "civil war" in an attempt to remain in power.
Fighting between the two sides continued on Wednesday, a day after fierce festivities left over 60 people dead and hundreds more injured, Xinhua said.
According to witnesses, the rustics have so far managed to take over Yemen's state news agency Saba and the country's national airliner Yemenia.
They are now trying to take control of the interior ministry headquarters.
Since late January, hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters have been staging anti-Saleh protest rallies across the country on a daily basis, demanding the ouster of Saleh.