Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has reportedly arrived in Saudi Arabia later for treatment on wounds he suffered in an attack on the presidential palace yesterday.
'He just landed in Saudi Arabia,' a Saudi government source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Global powers have been pressing Saleh to sign a Gulf-brokered deal to end his nearly 33-year rule over one of the Arab world's poorest states.
Seven other people were killed in the attack that wounded Saleh, who is facing mounting pressure to step down.
Leaving Yemen at a time of such instability, even for medical care, could make it hard for Saleh to retain power and be seen as the first step in a transfer of leadership.
Thousands fled Sanaa Saleh was wounded in an attack on his compound that marked a new stage in fighting which has brought Yemen closer to civil war.
President Saleh's forces retaliated by shelling the homes of the leaders of a powerful tribal federation fighting an urban battle to oust him.
The clashes have killed nearly 200 people over the last two weeks and turned areas of Sanaa into ghost towns after residents fled for safety.
Global powers are worried that Yemen could become a failed state, raising risks for regional security and Gulf oil shipments.
Several officials injured in the palace attack, including the speakers of both houses and parliament and the deputy prime minister were flown to Saudi Arabia for treatment, a medical source said.
Seven people were killed when shells hit a mosque in the presidential palace.
Saleh, a tenacious political survivor who has clung to power for nearly 33 years, said in an audio address late last night that an ‘outlaw gang’ was behind the attack, which he blamed on the Hashed tribe led by Sadeq al-Ahmar.
A tribal spokesman denied responsibility.
The deputy information minister said that the 69-year-old president had suffered minor injuries but was in good health. The president has not been seen in public since the attack.
Intermittent blasts and sporadic fire fights with automatic weapons punctuated the predawn hours in Sanaa and roads were clogged when the sun rose by civilians trying to flee the fighting that has engulfed more parts of the city.
Nearly 400 people have been killed since a popular uprising against Saleh began in January, inspired by the movements in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled their long-standing leaders.
The battles are being fought on several fronts, with popular protests in several cities and military units breaking away from Saleh to protect the protesters.
