Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh Gives Farewell Speech, Apologizes
Source: Associated Press
Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh Gives Farewell Speech, Apologizes
AHMED AL-HAJ 01/22/12 11:01 AM ET
SANAA, Yemen Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Sunday he will travel to Washington for medical treatment and he asked Yemenis for forgiveness, saying it is time to hand over power in a farewell speech, state media reported.
The mercurial president told Yemeni TV networks that he had formally handed power to his vice president but would return to his homeland before early presidential elections scheduled for next month as the head of the General People's Congress Party.
An official at Sanaa airport said that a presidential plane had left the country Sunday morning, but he declined to say who was on board. Two other airport officials said that Saleh had already left the country, but the claims could not be confirmed.
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