Rift threatens Yemen power transfer plan

Yemen's acting leader has threatened to leave office unless outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his allies stop "interfering" in his duties, a senior member of the opposition said on Saturday.  

The rift between Saleh and his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is the latest obstacle to a Gulf-brokered plan to end months of protests and political deadlock that have paralyzed the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state.    

"Relations between Saleh and his deputy have deteriorated and Hadi has informed Western mediators he will leave Sanaa if the interference in his jurisdiction continues," a senior member of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) told Reuters on condition of anonymity.  

Under a power transfer plan drawn up by Yemen's wealthier neighbors, the JMP and Saleh's General People's Congress party (GPC) divided up cabinet posts, forming a national unity government to steer the country towards a presidential election in February under Hadi's leadership.  

Saleh signed that deal in November, having backed out of it three times beforehand, but question marks remain over the intentions of the veteran leader, who earlier this week said he would stay in Yemen, reversing a pledge to travel to the United States.