After His Volte Face, Ex President Saleh Reportedly Killed in Yemen

The Yemeni Houthi rebels have blown up the house of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in the capital city of Sanaa on Monday. According to the reports, Saleh has been killed, but conflicting reports are emerging on whether he was killed in the house attack or while fleeing the city.

The graphic photos circulating on social media show a motionless body of a man resembling Saleh, with a head wound, being carried away in a blanket. The authenticity of these photos have not been verified yet.

Meanwhile, Saleh's party, the General People's Congress, denied earlier reports on Monday by Iranian-backed media that he was killed in the explosion. Sources close to Saleh said that the head of his security detail, Hussein al-Hamidi, was killed, but did not provide further details, according to the reports.

Earlier on Saturday, Saleh, who was a Houthi ally in the civil war changed sides and joined the Saudi led international coalition.

In a speech on Saturday, Saleh indicated the end of his alliance with Houthis and that he is ready to turn a “new page” in ties with the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis if it stopped attacks on Yemeni citizens and lifted a siege.

“I call upon the brothers in neighbouring 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 neighbourliness,” Saleh said in a televised speech.

Following the breakdown of Houthi-Saleh alliance, the capital city was gripped by heavy gunfight between the two forces. As per the reports, more than 100 people were killed since the intense fighting began on Saturday. The Houthis claimed that Saleh had organised a ‘coup’ by aligning with the Saudi led coalition, who are of conducting indiscriminate air strikes and blockade in Yemen.

The three year old civil war in Yemen has already claimed more than 10,000 lives, with the country plunging into a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Saleh, known for his authoritarian rule, was the president since 1978 of North Yemen and then the unified Yemen, till he was overthrown in 2012 after the ‘Arab Spring’ movement. He then ceded power to his Saudi-backed deputy Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

In 2011, Saleh survived an assassination attempt against him when a military grade bomb planted in the presidential palace went off. The explosion, which killed four of his body guard, had severely injured Saleh.