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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

‘Dead’ nephew of Saleh appears in video

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DUBAI: A nephew of slain Yemeni strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, presumed dead or critically wounded in clashes with rebels last month, appeared alive and well in footage that emerged on Thursday.


A video showed Tarek Saleh, for years the head of his uncle’s forces, addressing a crowd in what a source close to the family said was the southern province of Shabwa, an area controlled by the government against which Ali Abdullah Saleh had fought.


While the video’s authenticity could not be immediately verified, Tarek Saleh appeared to address the killing of his uncle and a senior aide last month.


Speaking to a small crowd of men who had gathered to cheer him on, he offered his condolences over “the martyred leader” — probably a reference to Ali Abdullah Saleh — and “the martyr Aref al Zouka”.


Zouka, from Shabwa, was secretary-general of Saleh’s General People’s Congress which was allied with the rebels against the government from 2014 until the end of 2017.


GPC member Nabil al Sufi, a close friend of the Saleh family, said the video was taken after Tarek Saleh arrived in Shabwa.


The commander had been presumed dead after being wounded in the clashes with rebels last month.


The GPC, which has begun to show signs of cracking since Ali Abdullah Saleh’s death, on Sunday elected former deputy premier Sadiq Amin Aburas as its new chief.


Meanwhile, a Arab coalition warned on Thursday that Yemen’s rebels threaten ships in the Red Sea through their control of a key port, days after rebel warnings over a coalition blockade. — AFP


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