Details of Ali Abdullah Saleh’s assassination revealed

CAIRO – 26 December 2017: Yemeni parliamentarian Abdel-Wahed el-Daam revealed that former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was assassinated at his home and not at his car while fleeing, adding that Houthi rebels deceived him into believing they were there to negotiate.

In his statement, Daam accused Qatar of supporting and funding Houthi rebels to assassinate Saleh, pointing out that Doha offered mediation to hold reconciliation between the Houthis and Saleh, who refused the offer. As a result, Houthi rebels assassinated Saleh, Daam said.

Meanwhile, he called on Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to cut ties with Iran and Israel, enemies of Arab nations, warning him of facing a bad fortune as a result of adopting such a policy. He assumed Qatar, a follower of Iran, was influenced by Iranian policies and, hence, assassinated Saleh.

The violence between the Houthis and Saleh’s forces has led so far to the deaths of a large number of civilians in clashes between the two sides, according to the International Red Cross. A wave of violence came after the sudden collapse of the political and military alliance between the Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Saleh. The two groups had held Sanaa for the past three years in an uneasy alliance.

Earlier, Saleh gave a televised address to announce that he offered a dialog with the Saudi-led coalition that he had been fighting, alongside the Houthis, since 2015.

Saleh had allied with Houthis – the old enemies he had fought for almost a decade, from 2004 to 2011. He then allied with Saudi Arabia after the 2011 protests, and then again defied Saudi Arabia.