Yemeni defected army accuses Saleh of seeking to fail GCC deal

The Yemeni defected army accused on Monday outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh of seeking to fail a power transfer deal that brokered by Gulf countries to end months- long turmoil in the impoverished Arab state. "President Saleh was still reinforcing his relative-commanded elite forces of the Republican Guard and the Central Security with continuing import of weapons," the defected army said in a statement, accusing the long-time leader of "seeking to fail the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative and its implementation mechanism." The force of army defectors, commanded by Saleh's half-brother Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, have been battling the government's elite troops for months as Saleh tries to confront a popular protests demanding his prosecution and dismissal of corrupt officials loyal to his regime. Saleh, who signed the power transfer deal in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 23 in return for immunity from prosecution, has postponed his medical trip to the United States due to the spreading labor strikes, his aides said Saturday. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday that Washington was still considering Saleh's request to enter the country for the sole purpose of medical treatment, adding that the permission has not been granted yet.