SANAA/ADEN: Yemen’s opposition dismissed Monday a government plan for talks aimed at easing unrest after months of mass protests demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s overthrow, saying it had not even heard of any such “road map” for peace.
Vice President Abd-Rabbu Hadi Mansour, who is acting president while Saleh remains in a Saudi Arabian hospital after an assassination attempt, said Sunday that a road map would be launched within a week.

Government spokesman Tareq al-Shami told Reuters the plan would center on talks with the opposition. “The road map is based on all sides gathering at the dialogue table and discussing all the issues,” he said.
But the opposition repeated its refusal to talk to the government until Saleh signs a transition plan brokered by Gulf Arab states which the 69-year-old president has backed out of signing three times.

“We knew nothing about the idea of a road map. There is no such thing, and we have decided not to enter any dialogue until the Gulf initiative is signed or power is transferred to the vice president,” said Mohammad Basindwa, a leader in Yemen’s opposition coalition.
Saleh is trying to cling to power after 33 years in office despite a bomb attack in June that severely wounded him and forced him to seek treatment in Riyadh. He has frustrated opposition hopes that he would concede defeat, instead vowing to return to Yemen and lead a national dialogue.

Yemen’s wealthy Gulf Arab neighbors and Washington have so far been unwilling or unable to force Saleh into a transition plan. Some have welcomed the proposals for dialogue, but the political opposition and protesters in the street have vowed to resist, insisting on Saleh’s overthrow.
Separately, Yemeni state media identified the suicide bomber in a truck attack that killed nine soldiers Sunday as Turki Saad al-Shahrani, a Saudi named on a list of dozens of Al-Qaeda-linked militants wanted in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

In the south, tribesmen Monday said they routed militants from parts of the capital of the flashpoint Abyan province. Zinjibar is one of several areas in Abyan seized by militants in recent months.
The tribes began backing a military operation to recapture Zinjibar in recent weeks, after accusing the army of being ineffective.

A tribal source said clashes Monday sent many militants fleeing north to Lawdar, where they were repelled again. Six militants were wounded and four others captured, he said.
Some 90,000 civilians have fled violence in Abyan as the army and tribesmen confront militants the government says have links to Al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, an army brigade in Abyan, whose base has been attacked by militants since neighboring Zinjibar was seized in May, sent a plea to the military for more provisions.