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Officials: Yemen's Saleh Leaves Saudi Hospital, Remains in Riyadh


People walk along a street where posters hang of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, August 7, 2011
People walk along a street where posters hang of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, August 7, 2011

Saudi and Yemeni officials say Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has left a hospital in Riyadh, where he had been been treated since suffering severe burns in a June 3 bomb attack on his compound in Sana'a.

The officials say Saleh was discharged from the hospital late Saturday and moved to a Saudi government residence for further recuperation. There was no word on when he will return to Yemen.

Saleh has refused to step down despite six months of nationwide opposition protests against his 33-year autocratic rule. His deputy Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has run the country in his absence.

The United States has urged Saleh to agree to a plan drafted by the Gulf Cooperation Council, under which he would hand power to a deputy within 30 days in return for immunity from prosecution. The Yemeni president has repeatedly refused to sign the plan.

In the June 3 attack, a bomb went off inside a mosque in Saleh's presidential palace, while he and other senior officials were praying. The blast killed 11 people and seriously wounded a number of the officials.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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