Houthi militia claims nephew of slain Yemeni ex-president Saleh is alive

One of the senior sheikhs of the Yemeni Khawlan tribes revealed the reasons for the clashes that arose between their tribes and the Houthi militia late Sunday evening.

He stated that the militia surrounded the Khawlan tribes’ Sheikh Mohammed al-Ghader’s home and demanded that he surrender former slain President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s nephew.

Saleh’s nephew, Brigadier Tariq Mohammed Saleh, was also the head of his security and led several battles against the Houthis in Sanaa. The source confirmed that the militia insists that Brigadier Saleh is in hiding in Khawlan, and that he was not killed with his uncle as the General People’s Congress (GPC) Party’s news outlets had claimed.

The heads of the GPC Party said that Brigadier Saleh was killed right before the assassination of former President Saleh, indicating that the former president had attended his nephew’s funeral before meeting his fate on the hands of the Houthi militia.

According to primary sources, the Khawlan tribes defended Sheikh al-Ghader and destroyed eight groups belonging to the militia in clashes that continued until late Sunday evening.

Tribal sources had said earlier that Houthi militias have been trying to arrest Sheikh al-Ghader, and announce his surrender to them while seizing his weapons. This was prior to the Yemeni army and Arab-led coalition forces liberating the Khawlan front as it is considered the eastern gate to the capital Sanaa.

Sources have also said that the Houthis were displeased with Sheikh al-Ghader and other leaders of the Khawlan tribe supporting the Yemeni army in their quest to free Sanaa, after the Houthis killed former President Saleh.

Tribal sources called on the legitimate Yemeni government and the Arab coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia to stand with the Khawlan tribes in their battles against the Iranian-backed militia.

Sheikh al-Ghader was one of the faces of the tribe who worked in previous mediation committees between Saleh and the Houthis. He is known to be loyal to the former president.