Injured Saleh Appears in TV Address

Local Editor

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh appeared Thursday for the first time after he was hurt by an attack that targeted a mosque in his presidential palace. Saleh, his face was burned and his hands covered with bandages, said he had undergone "more than eight successful operations" and called for dialogue in his speech broadcast on Yemeni television. "I had burns because of the accident. There were also a number of operations for a number of officials such as the speaker of parliament, the prime minister, his deputy, and the governor of Sanaa. More than 87 people were injured." He has been in Saudi Arabia for treatment since the 3 June attack. Seven people were killed in the incident, while Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar and at least two other senior officials were also seriously injured. Saleh, who has been braced for popular uprising four months earlier, said that those who have sought to drive him from power had an "incorrect understanding of democracy". In his brief address, recorded in Saudi Arabia, the embattled president said he welcomed power sharing as long as it was within the country's constitutional framework. "Where are the men who fear God? Why don't they stand with dialogue and with reaching satisfactory solutions?" Saleh asked during his speech. He also thanked Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi, the vice president, who has come under domestic and international pressure to assume power during the president's absence, "for his efforts in bridging gaps between all political parties". Security in Yemen has been deteriorating since Saleh left the country, with Qaeda fighters have taken control of some southern provinces.

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