Saleh's party says he risks facing sanctions over reported role in Houthi
rebellion if he does not meet ultimatum.
Last updated: 05 Nov 2014 18:29
The US is reported to have ordered Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former Yemeni
president, to leave the country or face possible sanctions, in an effort to
defuse political tensions that have crippled the Arabian Peninsula country.
Saleh's office told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that he has been given a
deadline of 14:00 GMT on Friday to leave Yemen or face possible sanctions.
Mathew Tueller, the US ambassador to Yemen, told Saleh's representatives
that the ultimatum was being pushed by the US State Department on behalf of
the UN Security Council, according to Saleh's office.
Saleh's political party, the General People's Congress (GPC), described the
alleged decision as a blatant interference in Yemen's internal affairs,
saying no country had the right to order a Yemeni national to leave the
country.
Jen Psaki, the US State Department spokesperson, rejected the ultimatum
allegation, saying "there have been no meetings between the ambassador and
GPC officials at which any such statements have been made".
Al Jazeera's Omar Al Saleh, reporting from Sanaa, said Saleh is still viewed
as pulling the strings of the GPC, and exerting influence on government
institutions and the military.
The sanctions would involve a visa ban and an assets freeze on Saleh for
reportedly being "one of the primary supporters of the Houthi rebellion" and
being behind attempts to cause chaos throughout the country.
Saleh, whose 33-year reign ended in 2012 after a popular uprising, has been
accused of using Yemen's ongoing crisis to re-establish his influence over
the country's politics.
He is seen as prime backer of the Houthi campaign that seized the capital
Sanaa in September and moved into central and west Yemen in defiance of a UN
peace plan.
The UN has been threatening to impose sanctions on five prominent Yemenis -
Saleh, his son, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi, his brother Abdulkhaleq
al-Houthi and military leader Abu Ali al-Hakem - on charges of undermining
Yemen's democratic transition.
Abdulmalik al-Houthi brushed off the threat in front of thousands of his
supporters on Tuesday, saying "we are not afraid".
His forces have advanced south from the mainly Shia northern highlands into
Sunni-majority areas.