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Updated Sunday, December 11, 2011 0:09 am TWN, AFP

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Yemen unity gov't swears in at Sanna's Republican Palace

SANAA -- Yemen's national unity government, led by the opposition, was sworn in Saturday to lead a three-month transition period until early elections are held and President Ali Abdullah Saleh formally steps down, an official statement said.

The statement, carried by the official Saba news agency, said the swearing-in ceremony took place at the Republican Palace in the capital Sanaa in the presence of Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

The new 34-member cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa, will carry out its duties until February elections, after which Hadi will take over the presidency for an interim two-year period as stipulated by a Gulf-sponsored deal drafted to resolve Yemen's political crisis.

Half of the new cabinet posts were entrusted to members of the opposition Common Forum, while Saleh loyalists were appointed to the other half, a condition stipulated in the Gulf plan signed by Saleh on Nov. 23.

Saleh's ministers for foreign affairs and defence have retained their posts, while the interior ministry, the human rights portfolio, finance and information ministries have been entrusted to the opposition.

The Gulf initiative gave Hadi temporary authority to rule Yemen and form a unity government until elections in which he will be the only candidate.

Once Hadi is elected, Saleh will then lose his current title of honorary president and officially be removed from power.

The power-transition deal also gave Saleh and his close relatives immunity from prosecution for crimes he allegedly committed in the uprising against his rule that has left hundreds of people dead and thousands more wounded since it began in January.

However, the protesters who have thronged the streets of the capital and other Yemeni cities have rejected the immunity clause and continue to demand that the long-time dictator go on trial.

On Saturday, thousands of protesters marched in Yemen's flashpoint city of Taez, demanding Saleh be tried.

“No immunity, no assurances,” chanted the protesters.

Taiz has witnessed some of the worst violence in the months of unrest, as armed tribesmen who have thrown their support behind the protesters continue to battle Saleh's troops.

In the last week alone, more than 30 people have been killed in the fighting.

Resolving Yemen's deteriorating security situation will likely be the most difficult challenge facing the new government.

Saleh's sons and nephews still control much of the country's elite military units, and unresolved conflicts with rebels, separatists and al-Qaida militants continue to threaten stability.

On Dec. 4, Vice President Hadi formed a military commission in line with the transition plan to oversee the restructuring of the security forces.

The 14-member commission will also tackle the withdrawal of gunmen from the streets in a bid to restore order in the country.

The capital Sanaa remains divided, with pro-Saleh troops controlling some neighborhoods, and dissident soldiers under the control of Saleh's arch rival, defected General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, controlling other areas.

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