Pressured Yemeni general leaves country

SANAA, Yemen, May 18 (UPI) -- Gen. Tarek Mohamed Saleh, a nephew of deposed Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, bowed to pressure and left the country, observers said.

The general was to join his family in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper Eden Tomorrow reported.

He had defied orders from new President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi to step down as commander of the 3rd Republican Guards, the report said.

Politicians from the Joint Meeting Party, a former block of the opposition, expressed their satisfaction, telling Eden Tomorrow the departure of the general marked the end of Saleh's era.

Mohamed Qahtan, the JMP's spokesman, said, "The departure of the remnant of the former regime is something Yemen welcomes and needs."