Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh will make a media appearance within the next 48 hours, his media secretary said today.
"The president will appear within the next 48 hours despite our fear that the burns on his features and on different parts of his body will be an obstacle given that his appearance will not be as the media expects it," Ahmed al-Sufi said in a statement.
Mr Saleh was forced to leave Yemen for treatment in a Saudi hospital after an attack on his palace earlier this month.
Mr Saleh (69) was forced after the attack to seek treatment in a Saudi hospital. In the days after the bombing of a mosque within the presidential palace, Saleh delivered a brief audio message via television.
Mr Sufi said the president was in good health and continued to direct Yemeni affairs from Saudi Arabia.
"The arrangements are currently being made for this appearance, which will definitely be followed by important media events," he said.
A source close to the president also said Mr Saleh was planning to address Yemenis soon, adding Mr Saleh's condition was good enough to allow him to travel to Yemen soon.
"The bomb in the mosque was in close proximity to the president when it went off. He was really lucky to get out," the source, who was with Mr Saleh during the attack.
Mr Saleh is suffering from burns, but they cover less than 40 per cent of his body, the source said, addressing reports in recent weeks about the extent of his injuries.
Yemeni officials previously accused an opposition tribal coalition of shelling the palace, which it denied.
Months of protests against Mr Saleh's 33-year rule have sparked deadly clashes between the president's followers and opponents, bringing the country to a standstill and raising concerns that militants will exploit the unrest to gain a foothold in the impoverished state.
Yemen's government said it will give three million rials (€7,000) to anyone with information on members of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), a six-party opposition coalition, it alleges were involved in the bombing of oil pipelines and destruction of electricity stations, state-run Saba reported.
Mohammed Qahtan, a spokesman for the JMP, dismissed the accusations as "groundless" and "nonsense" and said the interior ministry is no longer legitimate given the country's changing political landscape.
Protesters have taken to the streets of Yemeni cities for four months to call for the removal of Mr Saleh. The interior ministry said 43 members of the opposition are accused of attacks on pipelines in the Ma'rib province, which caused power and fuel shortages across the country, according to Saba.
Agencies