Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh will return from medical treatment in Saudi Arabia in days, the acting leader said on Monday as thousands celebrated what they hope will be a new era without him.

Diplomats and analysts feel Saleh's stay in Saudi Arabia, where he had surgery for shrapnel wounds suffered in an attack on his palace on Friday, might be prolonged as regional heavyweight Riyadh tries to broker a power transition deal to prevent the implosion of its neighbour.