Yemeni ex-President Saleh killed by Houthis

Yemeni ex-President Saleh killed by Houthis following his realignment with Saudis 

RT,

4 December, 2017

The former President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has been killed by Houthi fighters. Meanwhile, violence rages in the capital Sanaa following the breakdown of Saleh’s alliance with the movement last week.

Saleh's death has been confirmed, both by his own General People's Congress party and the Houthi-backed media. According to media claims, the movement has now gained the upper hand in the capital.

"The ministry of interior statement announces that they have taken over all the positions and strongholds of the treacherous militia in Sanaa and the surrounding areas, as well as other provinces in order to impose security," Houthi TV reported adding that "Saleh and his supporters" had been killed.

In a statement on Monday, Saleh declared that Yemen "had to be saved from the madness of the Houthi group.”

The car in which former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh was reportedly ambushed and killed on Monday

Houthi sources reported that Saleh, who led the country from 1978 until 2011, was ambushed while attempting to flee the capital towards the province of Mari. 

His car, which was also carrying the secretary-general of his party, Yasser al-Awadi, was allegedly first hit by an RPG, and then riddled with bullets as Saleh tried to escape on foot.

Unverified images allegedly depicting a dead Saleh with a fatal gunshot head wound have surfaced online. A video was uploaded to social media, in which fighters cried "Praise to Allah!" as they showed off the dead 75-year-old’s body to the camera operator.

An image grab taken from a video handed out by Yemen's Huthi rebels on December 4, 2017, reportedly shows the body of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh being transported at an undisclosed location in Yemen. © AFP

Other reports said that Houthis had blown up Saleh’s home in Sanaa, and wounded and captured his son, Khaled.

Saleh, who was deposed as part of the Arab spring that swept through the region over six years ago, had formed an uneasy alliance with the Houthis against the Saudi-led coalition after war broke out in the country in 2014. But in the wake of a falling-out with the Houthis sparked by a dispute over control of a mosque in Sanaa on Wednesday, Saleh said that he was prepared to turn a "new page" with the Saudis, provided they lifted the debilitating blockade of the country.

"

I call upon the brothers in neighboring states and the alliance to stop their aggression, lift the siege, open the airports and allow food aid and the saving of the wounded and we will turn a new page by virtue of our neighborliness," he said.

The Houthis immediately labeled him a traitor. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross more than 125 people have died in fighting between the two factions over the past six days.

READ MORE: Saudi intervention in Yemen was mistake, root of crisis must be addressed – ex-Iran FM

The intensified fighting, during which the US-backed Saudi force shelled the Iran-supported Houthis to reinforce their new-found ally, has “completely paralyzed humanitarian operations” in the Yemeni capital, AP reported Monday citing an adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, Suze van Meegen. “No one is safe in Sanaa at the moment,” she said.

Yemen Without Saleh

Moon of Alabama,

4 December, 2017

The former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been killed today. He was 75 years old but still very active in Yemeni politics. Video of his dead body being thrown onto the back of a pickup is making the rounds. One hears Houthi slogans shouted in the background. The pictures show a gun wound on the chest and at the side of the head. The face is easily recognizable. There are alsopictures of his ID card.

Though several media report his death there is no confirmation yet from his GPC party or his family.

Over the last few days Houthi media had announced several times that Saleh had been killed. This morning Saleh's house was blown up. This time the Houthi news proved right. The circumstances of Saleh's death are not yet known, but it was said that he was fleeing Sanaa when fate caught up with him.

As we wrote in our recap on Saturday, Saleh had suddenly made peace with the Saudis and asked his followers to take up arms against his former allies. For more than two years he had allied with the Houthi against the U.S. and UK supported Saudi invasion and proxy forces. On Friday, after several days of local clashes with the Houthi, he had called for his followers to throw the Houthi out of the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

For a day his fighters, led by some 1,000 soldiers of Saleh's personal guards, were successful and the Houthi were kicked out of many of their positions. But they were not defeated. They called up more of their troops and on Sunday regained the lost ground and buildings. They occupied Saleh's media. His TV station started to transmit his enemies chants. Over the last night and throughout today they defeated Saleh's troops.

It is yet a mystery why not more of Saleh's supporters came to his help. Sanaa is his home turf and whenever he had called for demonstrations in the city, hundreds of thousands attended. For much of his 34 years of rule as president and even after his forced resignation Saleh could call on the seven "collar tribes" who's territory surround the capital. This time they did not come to his aid. Saleh also continued to command significant parts of the former Yemeni army. These currently hold positions far outside of Sanaa against Saudi proxy forces who try to conquer the mountainous territory of northwest Yemen. One wonders why he had not called them back in time. 

It may be that his unexpected turn-on-a-dime towards a new alliance with the eternal enemies of Yemen, the Saudis, has alienated his followers.

The Saleh family and clan is quite big and resourceful. Many of his relatives have held high military positions in the Yemeni army and keep enough money to pay for their troops loyalty. Some nephew of his may take up his banner. It is unsure though if such a replacement could gain the following of the former army units Ali Abdullah could call on.

The Saudis had recently bet on Saleh to end the stalemate in their war on Yemen. Had he won out, it could have meant a pause in the war and probably its end. 

With the Houthi now having the upper hand in Sanaa, the war, the permanent Saudi bombing and the blockade of Yemen are likely to continue. The Houthi will continue to attack within Saudi Arabia and the fight against the Saudi proxy forces on the ground will go on.

It will need another breakthrough event for the war to top.

Update:

In previous pieces on Yemen MoA had quoted Haykal Bafana and Iona Craig. Both live in Yemen. Here are their first thoughts on Ali Abdullah Saleh's death:

@BaFana3 - 6:49 AM - 4 Dec 2017

I cannot describe the deep grief I feel. Ali Abdullah Saleh was the greatest leader #Yemen ever had. He never surrendered: He died a martyr in his homeland Yemen, as a Yemeni fighting for Yemen's cause. I salute Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, both in life and in death.

@ionacraig - 6:13 AM - 4 Dec 2017

I was 1st foreign journalist to interview Saleh after he stepped down. He said his memoirs wouldn't be published until after his death as they contained secrets about many people. I responded "So a lot of people should be afraid the day that you die?" He laughed & said "InshAllah"

Followers of Saleh and his family will now consider revenge against the Houthi for Saleh's death as their highest priority:

@SaadAbedine - 2:21 PM - 4 Dec 2017

Unconfirmed reports that Ahmed, #Saleh’s eldest son & former commander of #Yemen’s Republican Guard, will be addressing the nation tonight at 9 PM local & that he was released from his house arrest in #UAE, en route to Marib to lead the fight & seek revenge from #Houthi rebels

Houthis claim takeover of Yemeni capital, president calls for ‘all people’ to rise against them

RT,

4 December, 2017

The capital of Yemen, Sanaa is now reportedly under control of Houthi fighters, according to media citing the Interior Ministry. The group has allegedly retaken the city after the death of former President Ali Abdullah Sale.

Saleh, who formally renounced his alliance with the Houthis on Sunday, was killed while trying to flee the capital, according to the Houthi-controlled ministry. It said their former ally “was creating chaos by working with militias of aggression” in the country, and “helping extremist militants.”

Having accused the former leader of betrayal and inciting even more violence in Yemen, the ministry said the Houthi forces have “ended the crisis” and now control “all positions” of opposing militias. There have been reports that the eldest son of the ex-president Ahmad Saleh, regarded as his likely successor, has been arrested.

On Monday, Yemen's embattled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi ordered his armed forces to launch a massive military offensive against Houthis in Sanaa. The government of Hadi, based in southern Yemen in Aden and backed by Saudi Arabia, has announced what it called "Operation Arabian Sanaa," Al Arabiya reported, adding that an amnesty has been promised to those fighters who cut ties with the Iran-backed rebels.

"The president will soon announce a general amnesty for all those who collaborated with the Houthis in recent months and who have retracted that allegiance," the Saudi Arabian media cited Hadi's prime minister, Ahmad Obaid bin Daghr, as saying. In a televised speech broadcast by Sky News Arabia, Hadi also called on people in all Yemeni provinces to "rise against" the Houthi forces.

Heavy fighting has been ongoing in Sanaa in recent days, with the Saudi-led coalition launching strikes on Houthi positions and having bombed Sanaa’s airport. The strikes come amid reports of extreme bloodshed in Yemen’s capital after ex-president Saleh pulled out of an alliance with the Houthi rebels.

Rubble and debris can be seen in a Ruptly video documenting the aftermath of the Saudi-led coalition's attack on Sanaa International Airport on Sunday evening. The footage shows pulverized concrete, burnt-out cars and the airport's abandoned VIP lounge.

Heavy fighting was reported around the diplomatic area near the United Nations compound in Sanaa, the UN said. Reporting that "air strikes have intensified" in the area, where a number of aid agencies are located, the organization said there are military vehicles in the streets and "roads are blocked."

The Saudi coalition, which is generously provided with munitions by the US and UK, also targeted Houthi positions west of the capital, as well as in the highlands south of Sanaa, including the hills of al-Rayyan overlooking Hadda city, according to Al Arabiya. However, on Monday, Houthis reportedly made gains against forces supporting the former president.

In 2015, a Sunni-Arab coalition led by Riyadh launched a military campaign against the Shiite Houthi rebels to prevent them from controlling Yemen. The Saudi-led operation has been a major contributor to the humanitarian disaster currently plaguing the war-torn nation. Some 20 million Yemenis, including 11 million children, are in need of urgent aid, according to the World Health Organization. The UN believes that the civilian death toll from the conflict could exceed 10,000.