Yemen committee: militias have 48 hours to leave capital
Yemeni armed tribesmen who are the bodyguards of members of the parliament stand outside the House of Representatives (parliament) in Sanaa on January 11, 2012.
A Yemen government committee has given armed militias a deadline of 48 hours to vacate the country's capital, or else…. they are going to set another deadline.
Reuters reports:
The presence of armed elements in Sanaa, defying an earlier deadline to leave their positions by the end of December, underlines the difficulty of restoring normality to the country […] It was unclear if the new deadline would prove more effective than the last.
The demilitarization campaign is part of a Gulf-led initiative to steer the country toward elections after months of protests and street battles between rival forces, some loyal to Yemeni President, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
More from GlobalPost: Yemen president Saleh granted immunity (VIDEO)
Presidential elections are slated for February, when Saleh will be obliged to resign. But if his forces won't even leave the capital, Sanaa, well then we have a problem.
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