DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi group has buried the body of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, allowing only a handful of relatives to attend, sources from his General People’s Congress (GPC) party said on Sunday.
Saleh, 75, was killed by the Iran-aligned Houthis on Monday, after he had called for a “new page” in ties with a Saudi-led coalition that his supporters together with the Houthis had fought for nearly three years.
A GPC source, who has asked not to be identified, said the Houthis allowed less than 10 people from Saleh’s relatives to attend the night-time burial in the capital Sanaa, but gave no details on the exact location.
GPC Secretary-General Aref Al-Zouka, who was killed with Saleh, was buried on Saturday in his native Al-Saeed district of Shabwa province in southern Yemen after the Houthis handed over his body to tribal leaders, media and GPC officials said.
Relatives said on Thursday that Saleh’s family had refused conditions demanded by the Houthis for handing over the body. Some said they wanted to bury the body in the courtyard of a mosque he had built near the presidential compound in southern Sanaa.
Saleh ruled Yemen for 33 years before being forced to step down in 2012 in a Gulf-brokered transition plan following months of Arab Spring protests demanding democracy.
He remained in politics as the head of the GPC, Yemen’s largest political party, and in 2015 he joined forces with the Iran-aligned Houthis after they captured the capital Sanaa.
Yemen’s Saleh buried in Sanaa with handful of relatives present — sources
Yemen’s Saleh buried in Sanaa with handful of relatives present — sources
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
