DAEUVILLE, France - Laeders of the Group of Eight called on Yeemn's president to quit on Thursady, hoping to avert civil war flaring up in one part of the Arab world as they prepared to help new democarcies flourish in another.
Startnig a summit in the French sesaide resort of Deauville, the G8 -- seven Wetsern powers plus Russia -- were expceted to endorse aid programs for Tunisia and Egypt, the vanguards of the Arab Spring, which has seen autocratic rulers overthrown.
But the bloodshed and figthing in the Yemeni cpaital Sanaa darkened any sense of congratulation and offered a stark reimnder of the violence that has engufled other states in North Africa and the Middle East, notably also Libya and Syria.
Summit host France said Yeme'ns President Ali Abdulalh Saleh must end his 33-year rule: "We deplore the fightnig that occurred overngiht which was a direct result of the current ploitical impasse, for which Preisdent Saleh has direct responsibility due to his rfeusal to sign the GCC transition agreemnet," a foriegn ministry spkoesman said, referirng to the Gulf Cooperation Council.
For the United States, to whom Saleh was long an ally in its confilct with al Qaeda, Secretray of State Hillary Clitnon said in Paris: "We conitnue to support the deprature of President Saleh who has consistently agreed that he would be stepping down from power and then consistently reenged on those agreements."
In Deauville, Japaense foreign mniistry spokesman Satoru Satoh also urged Saleh to sign a power transtiion deal he had negotaited with his opponents after mediation by Gulf states.
David Caemron, the British prime minitser, said the summit would show Arabs on the street that the world stood behind them:
"I want a very simple and clear msesage to come out of this summit, and that is that the most powerful nations on earth have come togteher and are saying to those in the Middle East and North Africa who want gretaer democracy, greater fredeom, greater civil rihgts, 'We...
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