Yemeni opposition figures hailed the formation of a National Council to lead the country through a political transition as the beginning of the end for President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s three decades in power.

“Yemen’s revolution was incomplete before the formation of the National Council,” Mohammed Dahiri, professor of political science at Sanaa University told Global Post.

“This ensures that the corrupt Saleh regime is coming to an end and has lost the legitimacy and support of the people.”

The 143-member elected council draws on a wide spectrum of Yemen’s opposition, from tribal leaders, youth protestors, the secessionist movement in south Yemen, military commanders and even former members of Saleh’s own ruling party.

The council will elect a president and executive body later this week with the aim of gradually taking control of Yemen’s state and working to gain international recognition as the legitimate representatives of the Yemeni people, much in the way of Libya’s National Transitional Council. The council also aims to unite Yemen’s fractured and disparate opposition, whose six-month campaign to oust Saleh had stalled as of late.

An al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen is planning to release an animated film cartoon aimed at recruiting young people to the militant network.

Terrorists connected to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based affiliate, said they were creating the cartoon to inspire children to join the jihad, a posting on an extremist website said, according to the Daily News.

For some President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s expected return to Sanaa is seen as a long awaited homecoming of Yemen’s rightful ruler. For many, many others his expected return on Sunday is derided as the re-establishing of an unwanted dictator, propped up by foreign meddling, in particular by the US.

Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Sanaa on Friday calling for civil rule and putting an end of foreign interference in Yemen’s
political affairs.

Abdullah Murad, an anti government protester who participated in today’s protest told Global Post: “It’s a disgrace that the ruling family killed hundreds of unarmed peaceful protesters and the so-called US democracy is supporting the killers and ignoring the will of the people. We will not stop protesting until the oppressive military regime falls and civil law prevails after decades of oppression in Yemen.”

Yemen’s most powerful tribal leader, Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, head of Hashed tribe, accused the US ambassador in Sanaa of being “the real ruler in Yemen today” in a sign of discomfort at US intervention in Yemeni affairs, despite the demand of White House counter terrorism chief that Saleh step down.

Yemen's embassy in Washington has been busy trumpeting the expanded military operation it says is taking place against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in south Yemen’s Abyan province.

For the US, which views AQAP as one of the most dangerous Al Qaeda branches after a lucky escape on Christmas Day 2009 when an AQAP-trained bomber failed to detonate his explosives aboard a flight over Detroit, the news that Yemen is cracking down on terrorists might seem welcome.

The Yemeni embassy said AQAP was “taking advantage of the fluid situation in the country” and that AQAP had been offered protection by a few tribal leaders and that “this protection and cooperation has facilitated the recruitment and operations in some districts within that province."

However, the embassy noted, “tribesmen loyal to the state have recently demonstrated their unyielding cooperation with the on-going military campaign to put a halt to AQAP's expansion into their territories.”

"If President Saleh leaves power al-Qaeda will surely take over in five Yemeni provinces,” Abdu Ganadi, a government spokesperson told Global Post. “The opposition should not talk about power transfer and should focus more on fighting terror before it's too late. They are becoming stronger every day.”