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| Yemen president 'to go to US for treatment' | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Yemen's veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh has announced he is to travel to the US for medical treatment, but did not say how soon. | |
| Officials said he was giving a "farewell speech" a day after MPs approved a law giving him immunity from prosecution for his time in office. | |
| The law was part of a deal under which President Saleh would relinquish power and leave Yemen. | |
| There are conflicting reports about whether he has now left the country. | |
| The capital Sanaa saw renewed protests against the immunity law on Sunday. | |
| Demonstrators want Mr Saleh to be tried for offences they say he committed, including a crackdown during a year-long uprising that left hundreds dead. | |
| In a separate development, reports said government forces had closed runways at the main airport serving Sanaa, demanding the removal of Air Force commander Maj Gen Mohammed Saleh - the president's half-brother. | |
| Witnesses told Reuters news agency that air traffic was halted, and riot police with water cannon surrounded the protesters. | |
| 'Seeking forgiveness' | |
| "God willing, I will leave for treatment in the United States and I will return to Sanaa as head of the General People's Congress party," Ali Abdullah Saleh told party officials, according to the state news agency Saba. | |
| "I ask for forgiveness from all my people, men and women, for any shortcomings during my 33-year-long rule," he said. | |
| One official who was at the early-morning event which brought together senior political, military and security officials, quoted Mr Saleh as saying: "Today, I leave the country in your hands.'' | |
| The president's aides told the Associated Press news agency that Mr Saleh also announced the promotion of Vice-President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi - who is set to replace him as president - to the rank of marshal. | |
| Mr Saleh, 69, was badly injured in an attack on his presidential palace in June after which he spent several months in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. | |
| 'Butcher' | 'Butcher' |
| The bill approved on Saturday grants President Saleh full and irrevocable immunity from prosecution for anything he did while in office. | |
| However, Mr Saleh's top officials get limited immunity, and could still be prosecuted for actions deemed to be terrorism, or for corruption. | |
| Angry protesters carried banners on Sunday urging MPs to reverse their decision on Mr Saleh's immunity. | Angry protesters carried banners on Sunday urging MPs to reverse their decision on Mr Saleh's immunity. |
| "It is our duty... to execute the butcher", chanted protesters in Change Square - the hub of the democracy movement over the past year, AFP news agency said. | "It is our duty... to execute the butcher", chanted protesters in Change Square - the hub of the democracy movement over the past year, AFP news agency said. |
| Security forces controlled by the president and his family, as well as armed loyalists, have been accused of killing anti-government protesters. | Security forces controlled by the president and his family, as well as armed loyalists, have been accused of killing anti-government protesters. |
| Earlier this month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said that anyone who committed abuses during the mass protests which erupted a year ago should not be allowed to escape justice. | |