Yemenis march to demand transition

Yemeni anti-government protesters have held fresh rallies, demanding the formation of a transitional council to prevent Ali Abdullah Saleh from returning to power. Demonstrators called for the prosecution of Saleh and his regime's officials over the killing of hundreds of anti-government protesters since opposition rallies began in Yemen in late January. Yemenis also denounced the interference of Saudi Arabia and the US in their country's internal affairs. Saleh has been undergoing treatment in Saudi Arabia following an attack on his palace on June 6. Since the wounded dictator left Yemen, anti-Saleh protesters are holding daily demonstrations across the country, demanding a transitional council to prevent him from returning to power. Influential Yemeni tribal leader, Sadeq al-Ahmar, has urged Saudi Arabia to prevent Saleh from returning to Yemen, warning that his return could spark a civil war. Meanwhile, Saleh's top aide said on Wednesday that he will return to Yemen within a few weeks and resume his duty as president. "President Saleh will come back to Sana'a within the next few weeks after he fully recovers and will resume his duty as President of Yemen and he will not give up his constitutional rights," Saleh's press secretary Ahmed al-Soufi told Xinhua. Yemeni Vice President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi, who heads the caretaker government in Saleh's absence, has so far resisted intensive local and international pressure to heed the demands of protesters to assume power and set up an interim ruling council, insisting that Saleh is still the president and will return to Yemen soon.