The US government would only allow Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to travel to the United States for “legitimate” medical treatment, and is now considering the request, a senior Obama administration official said on Monday. The official said Saleh’s office recently contacted the U.S. embassy in Sanaa to say the president plans to leave Yemen soon and wants to get specialized care in the United States related to injuries he sustained in a June assassination attempt that forced him into hospital in Saudi Arabia. “The request for approval for President Saleh to travel to the United States is currently under consideration. The only reason that travel to the United States by President Saleh would be approved would be for legitimate medical treatment,” the official said.
On Saturday, just hours after his forces killed nine people who had demanded he be tried for the killings of demonstrators over the past year, Saleh said he would leave for the United States and give way to a successor. He did not say when he would depart. The Yemeni leader said he would undergo some medical tests but characterized his intended trip as one of temporary exile. “I will go to the United States. Not for treatment, because I’m fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections,” he said.
US mulling Saleh’s travel request: official
