Former Yemeni President Saleh ‘in hometown hideout’

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is currently in hiding in his hometown of Sanhan, Yemeni presidential spokesman Mokhtar al-Rahbi was quoted as saying by Al Arabiya News Channel on Wednesday.

The news comes amidst conflicting reports on Saleh’s whereabouts and suggestions that he might have fled to Eretria, where Arabic is widely spoken, or other African country.

In comments published Wednesday in Al-Hayat daily, Rahbi said reports that Saleh was in the area of Beihan, south of Yemen, were inaccurate - adding that their sources in Shabwah did not confirm he was there.

“However, we have information that he’s in his hometown of Sanhan, north of Yemen,” Rahbi said.

Saleh hails from the Sanhan town of Bait al-Ahmar, a small town whose population is less than 1,000.

Meanwhile, Riyad Yassin, told Ash-Sharq al-Awsat daily in remarks published Wednesday that the government of Djibouti informed Yemen that it received several calls to grant a permit to a small private jet, linked to an oil company in Djibouti, to transfer Saleh and his top aides from Yemen to an unknown location, adding that this request was rejected.

The Decisive Storm campaign had overnight shelled more targets for the Houthis and their allies, i.e. armed forces in support of Saleh.