YEMEN’S OUSTED LEADER KILLED.
Assassination another blow for war-torn nation
SANAA, YEMEN • Ali Abdullah Saleh, the deposed president of Yemen who used guile and charisma to rule the country for more than three decades, was assassinated Monday — the latest victim of a brutal civil war.
Saleh’s violent end removed one of the Arab world’s most resilient and ruthless strongmen, a onetime U.S. ally who was toppled six years ago during the Arab Spring protests but who managed to retain his influence. His death left Yemen — chronically impoverished, riven by violence and in the throes of a catastrophic civil war — facing even greater uncertainty.
Saleh was killed by Houthi rebels after he appeared to switch sides against his allies to join a Saudi-led military coalition. He spent two years fighting alongside Iranbacked Houthis against the Saudi-backed government.
But the alliance between Saleh and the Houthis collapsed last week and he began to make public overtures towards Saudi Arabia as his troops fought the Houthis in street battles in Sanaa, the rebel-held capital in Yemen.
The 75-year-old former leader, who held power for 33 years, was reportedly shot as he tried to flee the city. Picture and video circulated online showed Houthi fighters joyfully parading his bloody corpse.
Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, the Houthi leader, said Saleh had been killed for treason and warned the Saudi-led coalition it would not succeed in Yemen.
“Today is the day of the fall of the conspiracy of betrayal and treason. It’s a dark day for the forces of the coalition,” he said.
Saleh’s death is a blow for Saudi Arabia and its United Arab Emirates allies, who had reportedly wooed him through his son in the hope of bringing an end to a war that had descended into a frustrating stalemate for Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince.
More than 10,000 people have died in the fighting, which has destroyed the country’s infrastructure and left seven million people on the brink of starvation. Nearly a million people have contracted cholera and three million are internally displaced.
Saudi Arabia has been criticized for killing civilians in airstrikes and for its tight blockade of the country. It accuses Iran of arming the Houthis and supplying rebels with missiles which they have fired into Saudi territory.
After Saleh was forced from power, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, his vicepresident, took control. But when Houthi forces rose up against Hadi in 2015, Saleh and his loyalists joined them and seized control of much of North Yemen. Saudi Arabia then began air raids against the Houthis.