Protesters cheered while questions lingered in Yemen on Sunday following the exit of embattled president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose departure for Saudi Arabia has emboldened rebels while leaving a potential power vacuum in the impoverished nation.
Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia on Saturday with his family, perhaps never to return, for medical care after being injured in a rebel rocket attack.
The Saudi government has called on all parties in its southern neighbour to exercise restraint, noting that Yemen "risks sliding into more violence and fighting."
The country is among those caught up in the wave of "Arab Spring" protests, which in Yemen recently turned bloody as opponents stepped up efforts to end Saleh's 33-year rule.
Protesters on Sunday danced and sang in the central square of the capital city, Sanaa, upon learning of his departure. Some uniformed soldiers joined in the celebrations, singing patriotic songs and flashing the "V" for victory sign.
"Who would have believed that these people could have removed the tyrant?" said 30-year-old teacher Moufid al-Mutairi.
But al-Mutairi worried Saleh will return to seize power.
"If the medical reports are true that his wounds are light, then he will for sure return. Our challenge now is to remove the rest of the regime."
"If he returns, it will be a disaster."
Word broke later Sunday that an operation to remove pieces of wood that had lodged in Saleh's chest after rockets hammered the mosque in his compound on Friday was successful. The surgery took place at a military hospital in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Friday's attack left 11 bodyguards dead and five senior officials severely wounded.
Deputy Information Minister Abdu al-Janadi confirmed Sunday that vice-president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is acting as head of state in Saleh's absence. The Yemeni constitution says the vice-president may run the country for up to 60 days.
It remains to be seen if the rebels, who include high-ranking military defectors and a powerful tribal alliance that recently took up arms against the regime, will accept Hadi.
Al-Janadi said Saleh will return to the job once he has recovered from his treatment.
"Saleh will come back. Saleh is in good health, and he may give up the authority one day but it has to be in a constitutional way," al-Janadi said. "Calm has returned. Coups have failed. ... We are not in Libya, and Saleh is not calling for civil war."
Meanwhile Saleh's son and heir apparent Ahmed, who commands the powerful presidential guard, has reportedly stayed in Yemen in an apparent effort to hang on to power. Other key family members are also said to have remained -- raising the possibility that fighting could continue between rebel and pro-regime units led by loyal members of Saleh's inner circle.
As for the Saudis, they may pressure Saleh to permanently surrender power in the hopes of calming an uprising they fear may spread to their soil.
The U.S.-backed country is a key ally in the war on terror and home to an active al Qaeda branch. The terrorist organization and other extremist groups have gained strength in the country amid the upheaval.
In Taiz, Yemen's second-largest city, dozens of gunmen attacked the presidential palace on Sunday, killing four soldiers in an attempt to storm the compound, according to military officials and witnesses. They said one of the attackers was also killed in the violence.
In an attempt to calm tensions, Hadi agreed to a ceasefire in a part of Sanaa where government forces have waged pitched battles against forces loyal to Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar. Al-Ahmar is head of the country's most powerful tribal confederation, the Hashid.
In a statement, al-Ahmar said that starting Monday his forces will pull out of the streets and government buildings they had occupied.
With files from Associated Press
