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Yemen's Ex-President Saleh Reported Killed In Fighting


Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh attends a rally marking the 35th anniversary celebrations for the formation of his General People's Congress party, in Sanaa, August 24, 2017
Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh attends a rally marking the 35th anniversary celebrations for the formation of his General People's Congress party, in Sanaa, August 24, 2017

Yemen's rebel-controlled Interior Ministry says that ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a former ally turned adversary of the Huthi rebel militia, has been killed.

The December 4 statement came as video footage emerged showing what appeared to be Saleh's corpse.

"The Interior Ministry announces the end of the crisis of militias and the killing of their leader and a number of his criminal supporters," an anchor said on the rebels' Al-Masirah television, referring to armed supporters of Saleh.

Media outlets Al-Arabiya and Reuters cited unnamed sources from Saleh's political party, the General People's Congress, sa confirming that he was killed on December 4.

The party initially denied that its leader had been killed and said he was still leading forces in heavy fighting in Sanaa.

Unverified footage circulated on social media appeared to a show corpse resembling Saleh, wrapped in a floral-print blanket with a severe head injury.

Saleh on December 2 announced the end of his alliance with the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, with whom he has jointly ruled the capital, Sanaa, for three years.

Saleh, 75, ruled Yemen for more than three decades until his ouster under popular pressure in 2012.

Earlier on December 4, Huthi forces blew up Saleh's house in Sanaa and came under aerial attack by Saudi-led coalition warplanes for a second day, residents said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says at least 125 people were killed and 238 wounded in six days of fighting in Sanaa.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa

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