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    November 22, 2011

UN Envoy: Saleh Agrees to Step Down

   VOA News
   Anti-government protesters with an effigy of Yemeni President Ali
   Abdullah Saleh, Sanaa, Yemen, Oct. 15, 2011.
   Photo: AP
   Anti-government protesters with an effigy of Yemeni President Ali
   Abdullah Saleh, Sanaa, Yemen, Oct. 15, 2011.

   A United Nations envoy to Yemen says negotiators have reached agreement
   on a plan that calls for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in a
   bid to end the country's political crisis.
   Jamal bin Omar said Tuesday that political leaders involved in talks
   had agreed to an initiative from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
   that calls for Saleh to transfer power to a deputy. The transfer would
   be followed by early elections.
   Saleh initially agreed to the GCC plan on three previous occasions but
   then refused to sign the deal.
   However, Bin Omar said Tuesday that negotiators were discussing
   arrangements for a signing ceremony. Media reports say he will provide
   details in a Tuesday news conference.
   For more than 10 months, protesters have been demanding an end to
   Saleh's 33-year rule. The president's supporters have frequently held
   rival rallies.
   Al-Qaida-linked militants have been trying to gain a stronghold in
   southern Yemen as the president battles unrest linked to
   anti-government protests.
   On Tuesday, military officials said at least 14 suspected al-Qaida
   militants were killed in clashes with Yemeni soldiers backed by
   tribesmen. They say the fighting erupted late Monday in the southern
   Abyan province.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.