Anti-government protesters shout slogans as they react to the departure of Yemen's outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh from the country, in Sanaa January 22, 2012. (Photo:Reuters)
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh landed in Britain on Saturday from Oman on his way to the United States for medical treatment, Yemeni and British officials said.
Saleh, who had mistakenly been reported to have left the Gulf sultanate earlier this week, arrived on Saturday afternoon at Stansted airport, just outside London, the Yemeni defence ministry's news website Sept.net said.
In London, a Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that Saleh's plane was scheduled to land at a UK commercial airport on Saturday to refuel on the way to the United States.
"This is a routine event. Neither the president nor any of his party are expected to enter the UK," the spokesman said.
After months of deadly protests, the Yemeni leader finally signed up to a power transfer deal in November that effectively ended his three decades in power. He left Sanaa for Oman last Sunday with members of his family.
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