Yemen tribal leader demands interim ruling council

A military leader from the powerful Hashid tribe in Yemen voiced support on Friday for protesters' demands to form an interim ruling council in the absence of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. "We stand with the revolution and the revolutionaries, whatever sacrifices we ought to make," said Sheikh Hashim Abdullah al-Ahmar at a Friday protest in the capital. "The revolution has achieved one of its objectives" with the departure of Saleh, who was flown to Riyadh after being wounded in a bomb blast as he prayed at the mosque in the presidential palace compound, said Sheikh Hashim. He was one of the president's bodyguards before he defected when anti-Saleh protests erupted in January. "We are now working on a peaceful and orderly transfer of power, a mission entrusted to Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, a national figure who is accepted by all Yemenis," he said. Sheikh Hashim is one of the 10 sons of the late Abdullah al-Ahmar, who was, one of Saleh's main allies. Sheikh Sadiq, Hashim's brother, pledged his support for protesters in March, and his troops were locked in nearly two weeks of fighting in May that killed at least 300 people, according to medical and tribal sources. Tens of thousands of people protested in Sanaa on Friday demanding the formation of an interim ruling council, witnesses said. "The people want a new Yemen," they chanted at Sittine Road on what they had dubbed the "Friday of Revolutionary Will." "The revolution is the legitimate choice." In another Sanaa district, thousands of Saleh's supporters also rallied after Friday prayers chanting: "The people want Ali Abdullah Saleh," and waving pictures of him with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. Hadi has faced mounting internal and international pressure to assume power after Saleh, who has repeatedly refused to let go of the power he has held since 1978, was flown to Riyadh on June 4. Saleh, 69, has made no public appearance since the palace explosion, sparking speculation about his condition and casting doubts over his return to Yemen. But Hadi's grip on power is seen as shaky as Saleh relatives continue to run main security systems. Key among them is Saleh's son, Ahmed, who leads the elite Republican Guard.