Saudi King Says GCC Plan 'Exit' for Yemen Crisis

Saudi King Abdullah urged Yemenis Sunday to implement the Gulf Initiative by which President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who returned from the kingdom two days ago, would transfer power to his deputy.

"We see that the Gulf Initiative is still the exit to resolve the Yemeni crisis and prevent the situation (there) from getting worse," said King Abdullah in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

"We are sorry to see the violence that has left casualties and I call for self-restraint from all sides and call onto them to use reason to prevent Yemen from the dangers of slipping into more violence fighting," he added.

Yemeni security forces and Saleh's loyalists have been locked in fighting with defected army units and dissident tribesmen since last week.

They have also repeatedly attacked protesters camped at Sanaa's Change Square.

The violence has left 173 people dead in one week, according to figures obtained from medics, the opposition and tribal sources.

Saleh, who was hospitalized in Saudi Arabia from bomb wounds sustained in an attack on his palace compound in Sanaa, returned on Friday promising peace.

However, fighting flared as dozens were killed in Sanaa after his arrival.

The Gulf Cooperation Council nations, sponsors of the Gulf initiative that provides a road map for a peaceful transition of power in Yemen, have been rebuffed by Saleh, who continues to delay the signing of the initiative.

On Saturday, GCC ministers condemned the violence in Yemen and echoed U.S. and U.N. calls urging Saleh to "immediately" sign the initiative.

They also called for "self-restraint, a complete and immediate ceasefire, and for forming a commission of inquiry in the latest events that have cost the lives of innocent Yemenis."

A U.N. Security Council statement on Saturday called on all sides to "reject violence, including against peaceful and unarmed civilians, and show maximum restraint."

"They called on all parties to move forward urgently in an inclusive, orderly and Yemeni-led process of political transition," it said.

State news agency Saba said the president would make "an important speech to mark the 49th anniversary" of the September 26, 1962 revolution that saw Yemen proclaimed a republic, although no appearance has been officially announced.

Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, traditionally makes his speech on the eve of the anniversary.