How Bad Are Saleh's Wounds?

..and what does that mean for the revolution in Yemen?

As I said in this post, the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh sought treatment at a Saudi hospital last week for treatment of wounds sustained in the bombing of his palace. The initial assessment of his injuries seemed to be of the "stitches and maybe a little light plastic surgery" variety (like the time I twirled around in circles too many times, got dizzy, fell, and bit through my lip). Then US officials reported his injuries were much more severe--possibly life-threatening. Now, more than a week since the attack, no one can agree on just how severe Saleh's injuries really are.


The Yemeni ambassador to London and a Saudi spokesperson painted a rosy portrait, saying that Saleh is stable, able to speak and rest comfortably, and has been removed from intensive care.

According to a French paper, however, another Yemeni official indicated that Saleh is still in poor health, specifically related to respiratory issues, and no one is being allowed to visit him.

Just to further muddle the situation, questions may be arising about who was responsible for the attack on the [mosque within the] palace in the first place. While attributed to al-Ahmar tribesmen (discussed in this Mental_Floss article I posted yesterday), some ballistic evidence may indicate that the plot was actually carried out by regime insiders--in particular the fact that damage was inflicted by a bomb, not a mortar, and that the windows were blown outward rather than inward. The latter would indicate that the cause of the explosion was a bomb located inside the mosque.

What effect might this uncertainty have on protests? Protesters so far seem to view Saleh's absence as a victory and open door for their cause, as evidenced by the cheering crowds after his departure for treatment. At least one Yemeni journalist, Najib al-Yafa'yi (there's no good way to transliterate that last name, sorry), is urging protesters not to be distracted by the controversy (which he sees as a Saudi plot). According to al-Yafa'yi, the protesters have to focus on getting an interim council together to take over the governance of the country. Otherwise, he warns, Saleh's sons could orchestrate a military takeover. al-Jazeera Arabic article

In my search to find a comparable English article (AFP via GoogleNews, but doesn't have the ballistics stuff in it), I came across this one from AJE, in which the writer talks about the various groups grappling for power in Saleh's absence and speculates about who might ultimately assume control of the control. Probably the subject of a post tomorrow.