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| Arabia |
| Saleh accepts Saudi offer of treatment |
| 2011-06-05 |
| Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh is on his way to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment for “He’s on his way. He’ll be arriving tonight. He’s coming for medical treatment. We are the closest country and we have the capabilities,” the official, who asked not to be named, said. When asked whether Saleh was stepping down from power, he said: “He’s coming for medical treatment.” And he won't be going back... Yemen’s injured president accepted the offer from King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to travel there for medical treatment for burns and wounds from a splintered pulpit blown apart in a rebel rocket. The BBC said Saleh has been left with shrapnel near his heart and second-degree burns to his chest and face. The BBC said it had been informed by “sources close to the president” that Saleh had a piece of shrapnel almost 7.6cm long under his heart. The sources added that it was unclear whether the Yemeni president would need surgery. A 3 inch piece of shrapnel under his heart? That's a sucking chest wound. Let me guess: yes, he'll need surgery. Real soon now. The extent of Saleh’s injuries have been a matter of intense speculation. When the rocket struck the mosque in his presidential compound, he was surrounded by top officials and his bodyguards. Eleven guards died and five of the officials were seriously wounded and taken to Saudi Arabia. The president delivered an audio address, his voice laboured, but the images shown on Yemeni television on Friday after the attack were old. Sheikh Mohammed Nagi Al Shayef, a leader of the Saleh-allied Bakeel tribe, said he met the president on Saturday evening at the Defence Ministry compound in the capital. “He suffered burns but they were not serious. He was burned on both hands, his face and head,” Al Shayef told the Associated Press. He said Saleh also was hit by jagged pieces of wood that splintered from the mosque pulpit. There were about 200 people in the mosque when the rocket landed. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 ...My translation: I think somebody got REAL close to him with a suicide vest. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2011-06-05 10:52 |
| #1 The description of injuries makes me think the 'surgery' was actually an autopsy. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-06-05 00:33 |