Responding to the public outcry, Yemen's vice president, opposition parties and members of Saleh's party agreed to limit the sweeping immunity, said a government official who attended the meeting late Wednesday.

The official said the new arrangement would allow for trying officials except for Saleh on corruption charges. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

The immunity still covers those behind the deadly crackdowns that have killed more than 200 protesters in Yemen's uprising, part of the Arab Spring revolts that have swept through countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The amendment needs to be approved by the Cabinet and the parliament, and Saleh's supporters might try to torpedo it.

Amnesty International earlier called the law "a smack in the face for justice." Navi Pillay, the United Nations' top human rights official, said last week that granting immunity to for those accused of gross human rights violations or war crimes breaks international law.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. regretted that Saleh has not complied with agreements to leave the country and allow an election for a successor.

Saleh agreed under pressure to sign the plan to transfer power to his vice president and hold presidential elections in February. The vice president is the only candidate, and the election would rubber-stamp his takeover.

The agreement did not spell out that Saleh must leave the country, but Clinton's remarks appeared to confirm what Yemeni officials close to Saleh have told the AP — alongside the Gulf-brokered deal, Saleh made a "gentleman's agreement" with the United States to leave his country.

In late December, Saleh said he would leave Yemen to help calm the turmoil in his country, and he made a request for a visa to receive medical treatment in the United States, but officials in his ruling party later announced he would stay in Yemen.

Photo: Yemeni FM minister al-Qirbri (YemenOnline)

AP