Yemeni and opposition forces quit Taez

Yemeni security forces and opposition gunmen are reportedly withdrawing from protest hub Taez An official on Friday said tha forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and anti-Saleh forces were also leaving occupied buildings. Dozens have been killed in Taez, Yemen's commercial capital, since Saleh signed a power-transfer deal last month that would see his deputy take charge. Months of anti-government protests have pushed the impoverished country to the brink of civil war. The official said a committee set up to restore normality to Taez was clearing away road blocks set up by Saleh opponents and loyalists during street battles, and overseeing their withdrawal from occupied buildings. Protesters continue to take to the streets in anger at the opposition parties' endorsement of the Gulf-brokered deal, which grants immunity from prosecution to Saleh over the killing of demonstrators by security forces. Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party said it would stop holding pro-government rallies after Friday prayers to show its commitment to a political solution. "The decision by the party's leadership is a new sign of the GPC's eager desire to act in the higher interest of the nation and to begin ending the political crisis," said a statement from the party that urged opposition parties to do the same. A member of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) said it was not for them to call off street protests. "We in the JMP do not have the authority to cancel protests and sit-ins. It's the youth movement that controls the protesters," the assistant secretary-general of the socialist party told Reuters news agency. Under the transfer plan negotiated by Yemen's wealthy Gulf neighbours, the GPC and opposition parties divide up cabinet posts between them and form a national unity government to steer the country ahead of a presidential election in February. The cabinet, which is due to be sworn in on Saturday, faces a host of challenges including a southern separatist movement, a rebellion in the north and a regional wing of Al-Qaeda that has exploited the upheaval to strengthen its foothold in Yemen. Neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the United States, both targets of foiled attacks by Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, fear the global militant network could use a security vacuum to plot and perhaps carry out attacks on the region and beyond. The interior ministry said it was making arrangements for the United Nations envoy who helped broker the power transfer deal to visit the north and south of the country, where central government control has been severely weakened. Opposition leader Mohammed Basindwa, who is now prime minister, said his first foreign visit would be to oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to ask for urgent support for Yemen's fuel and electricity needs.