Yemeni Leader’s Condition Raises Doubts About Rule

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
NYT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen suffered injuries far more extensive than previously known in the attack on his presidential palace last week, with burns over 40 percent of his body, Yemeni officials and Western diplomats said Tuesday.

There have also been reports that a wooden shard sliced into his body and punctured a lung, said Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, the head of the Arabiya television network.

It was initially reported that Mr. Saleh, who was flown to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for treatment at the Armed Forces Hospital in Riyadh, had suffered burns on his face, neck and arms in a blast at the palace mosque during Friday Prayer. His aides maintained that he would return home within a matter of days.

However, the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was burned on his back as well, and that the burns were severe enough to require strong sedation for the pain and months of convalescence.

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