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No progress in power-transfer talks in Yemen

Xinhua, November 21, 2011

• Yemeni Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi met with opposition leaders in Sanaa on Sunday, trying to reach a power-transfer agreement upon the request of visiting UN envoy Jamal bin Omar. However, no progress was made during the talks, government and opposition officials said.

  "No progress has been made until this moment, nothing new," opposition spokesman Mohamed Qahtan told Xinhua.

  "We (opposition representatives) have met with representatives of Saleh's ruling party, including Hadi upon the request of visiting UN envoy who is running the talks... but no progress or no compromise was achieved as Saleh still sticks to his conditions and refuses to transfer power peacefully," he added.

  On the other hand, an official of Saleh's office told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "it seems that no deal will be inked as long as the opposition refused to make any concession."

  The government official also said that the UN Security Council postponed a meeting to discuss the implementation of Resolution 2014 which aims to solve the months-long crisis in Yemen.

  Bin Omar arrived in Yemen on Nov. 10 to follow up the implementation of the UN resolution and called on Saleh to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative to peacefully transfer power to his deputy Hadi in return for immunity from prosecution.

  Saleh has backed out of signing the initiative for three times in the last minutes since it was brokered in April, confronting the 10-month-old protests.

  Meanwhile, tension is simmering after General Abdulsalam al- Sufyani of the Republican Guard military base in Arahab district in northern Sanaa province was killed on Sunday during clashes with the defected army and dissident armed tribesmen, a day after Saleh warned his opponents of "harsh and decisive response if they continue to attack the Republican Guard forces."

  The Defence Ministry accused the defected army and opposition- led tribal rebels of attacking the Republican Guard military base and killing the general, which opposition officials refused to give comment.

  In the capital Sanaa, witnesses said that the government, the defected army and armed tribesmen recently deployed more forces to the frontline.

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