Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounded in an attack on his palace, underwent surgery in Saudi Arabia and Yemenis seeking his overthrow celebrated what they hoped was the end of his 33-year rule.
A Yemeni ruling party official said Saleh would return to the country within days, but with a power struggle already under way and gunfights raging in parts of the country, the threat of further turmoil remained high.
A medical source in Saudi Arabia told Reuters Saleh was awake and in good condition after undergoing surgery on Sunday to remove shrapnel from his chest.
"People are worried about what will happen after Saleh's departure. They're most worried about a military coup or struggles for power within the army," said Farouq Abdel Salam, a resident of the southern port city of Aden.
Concerns are mounting that Yemen, already on the brink of financial ruin and home to al Qaeda militants, could become a failed state posing a threat to the world's top oil-exporting region and global security.
Saleh has exasperated former US and Saudi allies, who once saw him as a key partner in combating Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, by repeatedly reneging on a Gulf-brokered deal under which he would quit in return for immunity.
Leaving Yemen could make it hard for him to retain power.
"I think this is the end of Saleh's reign," said Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of Cornerstone Global Associates and senior analyst at Political Capital.
"There is a short window of opportunity for Saudi, the Gulf Co-operation Council and the West to salvage whatever they can in Yemen, and they need to act fast. We are entering a post-Saleh Yemen, which Saudi Arabia and the West may not be necessarily prepared for."
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