Yemen dissidents urge swift action in Saleh absence

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Yemeni dissidents on Monday called for a swift power transfer as the opposition vowed to block the return President Ali Abdullah Saleh whose party insists he will be back after surgery in Saudi Arabia.

Saleh, hurt by an explosion as he prayed at a mosque inside the presidential compound, is convalescing in Riyadh after undergoing two successful operations on Sunday as thousands took to streets in Sanaa to celebrate his departure.

A youths’ committee which has been a key player behind an uprising against Saleh’s nearly 33 years of autocratic rule called on Monday for immediate steps to ensure a power transfer.

It urged “all national and political forces to begin with forming an interim presidential council. And creating a national transitional council,” in a statement.

The committee also called for the forming of a “government of technocrats” to lead the transition.

The youth group, organisers of an anti-regime sit-in demonstration at a square in Sanaa since February, encouraged people to celebrate what they hailed as “the ouster of Saleh.”

“The revolution has achieved its first objective — the ouster of Saleh,” it said, adding the protesters would “continue (their) sit-in until the achievement of all goals.”

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Yemen’s capital on Sunday to celebrate what they said was the end of Saleh’s regime. Hundreds also celebrated in the second-largest city Taez.

Yemen’s parliamentary opposition vowed on Sunday to prevent Saleh’s return to Yemen.