Ambiguity continues to persist over whether the White House would let Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh enter the US for medical treatment.
"US officials are continuing to consider President Saleh's request to enter the country for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatment, but initial reports that permission has already been granted are not true," Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said on Monday.
Even as the Yemeni president awaits his visa, more than 10 people have been killed in the latest exchange between pro-Saleh forces and opposition demonstrators.
The US regards Saleh as a valuable ally in the battle against al-Qaeda, but it has also condemned his crackdown against pro-democracy protestors in Yemen, which has killed hundreds.
Saleh was injured in an assassination attempt in June, which forced him to go to Saudi Arabia for treatment.
Last month he signed a deal to hand over powers under an agreement brokered by the Gulf Co-operation Council, which also provided him immunity from prosecution.
Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports.
Comments