Yemeni president’s health ‘bad’

The state of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s health has been described as “bad,” nearly a week after he was wounded in a bomb attack.

According to an informed source in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, where the beleaguered leader is being treated, Saleh suffers mainly from “problems in the lungs and respiration,” AFP reported.

Saleh was flown to Saudi Arabia on June 4, a day after an explosion ripped through the Yemeni presidential palace.

Official sources initially said that Saleh was speedily recovering and would return back to Yemen within a matter of days.

On Friday, thousands of his loyalists took to the streets of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a after hearing news that he was out of intensive care.

This is while Saleh has not been seen in public since the attack.

Opposition groups believe that with his departure, Saleh’s 33-year rule has come to an abrupt end.

The protesters are now demanding the formation of a transitional presidential council in the country.

Yemen has been rocked by anti-government protests since January.

During the past five months, hundreds of people have been killed and many more injured by forces loyal to Saleh’s US-backed regime.

Reports say that Yemeni authorities are now trying to move Saleh’s family members from Sana’a to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.