Yemen Protests: Ali Abdullah Saleh 'to Step Down in 30 Days'

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen 'to Step Down'

According to a presidential aide, Yemeni strongman Ali Abdulah Saleh is set to step down after 32 years in power. While publicly defiant against his own population, Saleh has been in talks with other Gulf leaders to work on a dignified exit from an increasingly-untenable position.

Presidential aide Tariq Shami told press "Though President Saleh has constitutional rights to stay in power, he is willing to leave office willingly." Apparently the deal stipulates that Saleh will leave power in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Yemen has seen three months of anti-government protests, many of which were met with deadly force from Saleh's forces, and this is not the first time that tales of Saleh stepping down have emerged. The Yemeni people will believe it when they see it. Als, there's the matter of a "dignified exit": especially after the past few months, Ali Abdullah Saleh's opponents won't be so willing to just let him walk away. They will want to hold him accountable for abuses against civilians.

Saleh's current term runs until 2013.