ANAA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) — The Yemeni government signed Tuesday a ceasefire deal with the dissident army and opposition rebels in the capital Sanaa, the Defense Ministry said.
The ceasefire, which was mediated by a committee assigned by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, will take effect as of Tuesday afternoon, the ministry said in a brief statement.
It said the deal stipulated all rival forces be removed from the streets and residential areas of Sanaa.
There were no immediate comments from defected general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar or powerful opposition tribal chief Sadiq al-Ahmar.
However, al-Ahmar said in a statement released on his website that the clashes between Saleh’s troops and his fighters on Tuesday killed one of his followers and injured 10 others.
Yemen has been in the grip of nine months of protests demanding an end to the 33-year rule of Saleh.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh also welcomed the United Nations Security Council resolution which called on him to sign a Gulf Arab initiative to transfer power, the official Saba News Agency reported Tuesday.
Saleh welcomed Monday the resolution 2014 passed by the 15-nation council last Friday, Saba
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Wednesday he was ready to sign a power-transfer deal if the opposition provides guarantees from the United States, Europe and Gulf countries for implementing the proposal.
“After my return from Saudi Arabia, where I spent 112 days for treating injuries I sustained from the June 3 attack, they ( opposition) demand that I sign the Gulf (power-transfer) initiative. Fine, we are ready to sign the deal, either me or my deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi,” Saleh said in a speech before a meeting of his party leaders in Sanaa, aired by the state television.
