Yemen 'highly fragile,' U.N. official says

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Though the situation in Yemen is "highly fragile" a power-sharing deal may be a sign it's moving in the right political direction, a U.N. official said.

A unity government was sworn in after Ali Abdullah Saleh succumbed to nearly a year's worth of political protest and handed power to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi earlier this month.

Jamal Benomar, a special adviser for Yemen for the United Nations, told reporters following a closed-door meeting with the U.N. Security Council that this was no time to relax on Yemen's transition.

"The situation in Yemen remains highly fragile, and the political agreement will be impossible to implement without the continuous commitment and cooperation of political and other leaders throughout the country," he said.

Yemen said it would have elections for a new government in February. Benomar said he was "hopeful" about the prospects but stressed a "serious commitment" was needed from all sides to ensure a path toward stability is followed.

Saleh spent most of the summer at a military hospital in Saudi Arabia recovering from wounds he suffered during an assassination attempt in June. Benomar said Saleh still needs serious medical attention, which he may get outside the country.

Demonstrators in Yemen, the BBC reports, are frustrated because the transition deal, brokered with the help of the Gulf Cooperation Council, gives Saleh immunity.

He relinquishes his presidential title after the election.