Sadeq Ameen Abu Rass, Deputy Prime Minister for Internal Affairs and a former agriculture minister, was named a new leader on Sunday of the party of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed last month by the Iran-aligned Al Houthi militia, his one-time ally.
Published: 21:06 January 7, 2018
Reuters
DUBAI: The party of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh named a new leader on Sunday after he was killed last month by the Iran-aligned Al Houthi militia, his one-time ally in the country's civil war.
Questions have arisen over where the loyalty of the General People's Congress (GPC) fighters lay after Saleh was killed in a roadside attack after switching sides, abandoning Al Houthis in favour of the Saudi-led coalition.
Sunday's announcement said Sadeq Ameen Abu Rass, a former agriculture minister, had succeeded Saleh.
Saleh's exiled son Ahmed Ali Saleh, had vowed to lead a campaign against Al Houthis after his father was killed, but the statement on Sunday did not mention his name.
The statement also called for releasing all the party's prisoners, including Saleh's family members and employees of his TV channel Yemen Al Yawm, detained by the Al Houthis - held after Saleh switched sides.
The Saudi-led coalition has called on party members to join the internationally recognised government and offered an amnesty to its fighters.
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