arab spring

Yemen’s President Is Going to Come Home

Even before its president was wounded in a bomb attack, Yemen was on the brink of civil war and economic collapse. Things have not gotten better since then. People are waiting more than a day to get gas for their cars, food is hard to come by, and an already weak economy is being further tested by a lack of electricity. Now it appears the president is readying his return. Reuters is reporting Ali Abdullah Saleh will make a media appearance in the next couple of days from Saudi Arabia, where he continues to recuperate from burns on 40 percent of his body. Humbled by the protests, an anonymous source tells Reuters Saleh plans to make a return to Yemen soon and offer to form a new coalition government or shift all power to Parliament (but remain a figurehead president). Saleh continues to argue the country and its allies (including the U.S.) are better off with him in power because the opposition is too splintered to fight terrorism effectively. Others will disagree, as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands who protested Sunday for Saleh’s sons to leave the country.

Yemen’s splintered opposition [Al Jazeera]
Yemen’s Saleh to reappear as violence grips south [Reuters]
Yemen plagued by shortages of fuel, electricity and food [Global Post]

Yemen’s President Is Going to Come Home