Saleh brother to head Yemen’s army reserve

aden — Yemen’s government on Saturday named a brother of slain former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, for years an enemy of the state, to a top army post.

A presidential decree published on the state-run Saba news agency named Ali Al Humeiri, halfbrother of Saleh, head of Yemen’s army reserve.

The position is little more than ink on paper, insiders say, as the troops are effectively controlled by Houthi rebels on the ground.

A local government official confirmed that the reserve was under the control of the Houthis, who in 2014 joined ranks with former president Saleh to drive the government out of the capital Sanaa.

The appointment could, however, signal an overture between the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which has fought the Houthis for four years, and

People have been killed in Yemen since March 2015

political factions still loyal to slain Saleh, the official said.

The Iran-backed Houthis have only tightened their grip on the capital after gunning down Saleh in December, following weeks of accusations that he had been holding secret talks with the government.

The Yemeni army has since splintered, with factions in Sanaa maintaining loyalty to the Houthis, other brigades allied with the Saudi-led coalition and some troops in southern Yemen standing by separatists. —