An image grab taken from Yemen's state television shows Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh delivering a televised speech from the Saudi capital Riyadh on July 7, 2011 as he made his first TV appearance since he was wounded in an explosion at his palace in Sanaa last month. -AFP Photo

SANAA: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, his face burned and his hands covered with bandages, appeared on television Thursday for the first time since he was wounded in a bomb attack on his palace in Sanaa.

Saleh, who has been hospitalised in Saudi Arabia since the June 3 attack, was barely recognisable and sat stiffly as he spoke in the pre-recorded statement broadcast on Yemeni television.

He said he had undergone “more than eight successful operations from the burns sustained in the accident” and called for dialogue.

“Where are the men who fear God? Why don't they stand with dialogue and with reaching satisfactory solutions” for all Yemenis, said the veteran president, who has been the target of anti-regime protests since January.

Saleh thanked Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who has come under domestic and international pressure to assume power during the president's absence, “for his efforts in bridging gaps between all political parties” in Yemen.

The speech lasted only a few minutes and was followed by footage of fireworks lighting up the sky in Yemen.