UN envoy: Yemen president should transfer power

November 14, 2011

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A U.N. envoy is calling on Yemen's embattled president to speed up reforms and begin a transfer of power according to a plan backed by the international community, including the U.N. Security Council.

Jamal Benomar is in Yemen for a weeklong visit intended to promote the Gulf-backed proposal. It calls on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to transfer power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Saleh has not signed the proposal, despite nearly nine months of protests against his 30-year rule.

Benomar held meetings with opposition figures on Monday, including Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who leads a military unit of defectors siding with the opposition and protecting protesters.

Earlier in his trip, Benomar met with Saleh and his deputy.