UN envoy leaves Yemen as power transfer process moves forward

SANAA, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- UN envoy Jamal bin Omar left Yemen on Saturday after his seventh visit to Sanaa to follow up implementation of a UN resolution and a Gulf-brokered power transfer deal, state media reported.
"There is important development in the political situation in Yemen, where preparations are underway for early presidential elections on Feb. 21 next year and the joint military committee began its process to restore normality to the country," official SABA news agency quoted bin Omar as saying upon his departure.
"The obstacles must be overcome through dialogue and consensual understanding," said bin Omar, who is scheduled to present his report on Yemen to the UN Security Council on Dec. 19.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni Military Affairs Committee headed by Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi began on Saturday morning to remove barricades and checkpoints of forces loyal to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the defected First Armored Division from the western part of Sanaa in line with the UN-backed initiative.
The initiative was signed by Saleh and opposition leaders in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 23, which was designed to end the 11-month- long turmoil that brought the impoverished Arab state on the verge of a civil war and economic collapse.
Under the deal, early presidential elections in Yemen are set to be held on Feb. 21, 2012, while Saleh retains the title of honorary president for 90 days before his resignation and enjoys immunity from prosecution afterwards.