SANA'A, Yemen, May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Saturday for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to leave office.
"President Saleh needs to follow through on his commitment to transfer power," Clinton said in a release. "The government of Yemen must address the legitimate will of the people."
The country's opposition group, the Joint Meeting Parties, signed an agreement Saturday that calls for Saleh to resign within one month, the Yemen Post reported. Saleh, who has held sway for 32 years, had yet to sign the deal, however, and has backed out of previous agreements designed to ease him out of power.
Saleh warned Saturday in a speech marking Yemen National Day that al-Qaida would take over should he leave office, Saba, a Yemeni news agency, reported.
"Al-Qaida will complete its control over Marib, Hadramout, Shabwa, Abyan and Jawf," he said. "These governorates will be forced to accept al-Qaida, because they do not want the Joint Meeting Parties."
