Dissident Yemeni MPs Form Anti-Saleh Bloc

Yemeni lawmakers, who split from the ruling General People's Congress party, have established a new political group calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a statement from the bloc said.

The new group, named "Justice and Building bloc", comprises former ministers and members of the parliament who had deserted GPC in protest to the heavy handed response by authorities to anti-Saleh demonstrations.

Members of the new group have called for "regime change" and the "immediate departure" of Saleh, according to the statement released late Monday.

The bloc was announced in a ceremony on Monday in Sanaa.

It includes former minister of tourism Nabil al-Faqih, minister of human rights, Huda al-Baan, and transport minister Khaled al-Wazir, in addition to former GPC politburo member Mohammed Abu Lahum, among others.

Anti-regime protests broke out in Yemen late January demanding the departure of Saleh who has been in power for over three decades. More than 125 people have been killed in the protests.

A Yemeni government delegation meets the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday to discuss an exit plan proposed by the oil-rich bloc.

The U.N. Security Council will also discuss the crisis in Yemen for the first time on Tuesday.