Qatar has withdrawn from the GCC initiative to end the political crisis in Yemen, with Gulf media outlets saying the withdrawal was justified due to the delay in finalizing the deal by President Saleh and the opposition in the country.

Media quoted Qatar's Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani as saying that the Qatari withdrawal was also because of the bloodshed and rising death toll amid the continuous protests demanding an immediate ouster of Saleh across Yemen.

A week ago, the governments of Yemen and Bahrain turned down the deal launched in early April, though it was officially accepted by President Saleh and the Joint Meeting Parties, the opposition bloc here, Aljazeera.net said.

But the GCC Secretary General Al-Zayani expressed hope over the GCC West-backed effort, as he announced that he will arrive in Sana'a on Saturday to push the power transition initiative.

The initiative called for the resignation of President Saleh in a month since he sings a final agreement with the opposition in return for immunity for him and officials in his regime including his relatives from prosecution after leaving office.

President Saleh, who personally accepted the initiative, refused to finalize the deal as the president, saying he will sign it as head of the ruling party instead, raising fears about whether the deal can hold.

While the opposition warned of any delay to finalize the deal and urged the GCC to pressure Saleh to sign it immediately, the hundreds of thousands of the antigovernment protesters at the squares of change and freedom in many cities rejected any deal that does not ensure an immediate and unconditional resignation of Saleh.

In the last few days, the security authorities stepped up the crackdown on the protests leaving almost two dozens killed and thousands injured in cities including the capital Sana'a and Taiz.