The U.S. had previously backed President Ali Abdullah Saleh in exchange for cooperation against a branch of al-Qaida.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, reacts while delivering a speech to his supporters, during a rally in his support in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 20, 2011.PARIS — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States is troubled by political intransigence in Yemen amid ongoing violence there.
Clinton says Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has repeatedly "reneged" on promises to step down, and she says the U.S. and other countries are trying hard to get him out. The U.S. had backed Saleh in exchange for cooperation against a branch of al-Qaida headquartered in Yemen, but Washington withdrew its support as Saleh pressed a violent crackdown on protesters this spring.
Intense battles spread across Yemen's capital Thursday. At least 28 people were killed as the four-day death toll neared 110.
The State Department on Wednesday ordered nonessential U.S. diplomats to depart Yemen and urged all Americans there to leave as security conditions deteriorated.