SANA, Yemen — The skies here erupted with fireworks and celebratory gunfire Friday as supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh celebrated his unexpected return from more than three months of medical treatment and convalescence in Saudi Arabia.
But the celebrations, which continued well into the night, masked the widespread concern that with Saleh apparently back in power, there would be no way to resolve this country’s 7-month-old political crisis without widespread violence and even civil war.
State media quoted Saleh as calling for more negotiations and an end to the current round of fighting, which began Sunday when government troops opened fire on anti-Saleh demonstrators who have occupied much of downtown Sana since February.
There was little confidence, however, that more talk would lead to what opponents have demanded — Saleh’s resignation, something the United States and Yemen’s oil-rich gulf allies have tried to broker, unsuccessfully, for months.
“Saleh’s return is like gasoline on a raging fire,” wrote Gregory Johnsen, a Princeton-based Yemen analyst, warning that the president’s arrival in Sana could herald Yemen’s disintegration into chaos.
Saleh had been absent from the country since June 3, when he was flown to Saudi Arabia for emergency medical care after a bomb, planted in a mosque on the presidential compound’s grounds, narrowly missed killing the president as he and other members of his government were praying.
His opponents cheered when Saleh left, expecting his stay in Saudi Arabia to mark the beginning of the end of his rule. But over the months, Saleh had been shown on state television as steadily improving.
By noon Friday, thousands had massed in a park near the presidential compound for a pro-government rally, shouting slogans thanking God for Saleh’s return.
Hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators also took to the streets in protests across the country. The crowds renewed calls for political change and called for Saleh’s trial.
“We’re still in shock, really, and for now all we have is rumors,” said Atiaf al-Wazir, a Sana-based activist. “The fear is that this could lead to all-out war, which would spell the end of the revolution.”
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