Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

...and Yemen!

Cant say I am that surprised, Saleh being notoriously slippery and a survivor whose luck is pretty resistant to running out. And it really deserves to run out on him one day.
 
One suggestion is that he wasn't killed in the bombing, but rather whilst fleeing the capital. No idea if its true but given that the video of his body appears to be from a location that is not built up, I will link to the tweet anyway.

 
Saudi mouthpiece Al Arabiya has this on its front page
121fb735-348e-4088-a151-8a3e4cb8aeec_16x9_788x442.jpg

he deffo a goner
Yemen’s ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh killed during Sanaa clashes
 
lol at the desperate rumours that Saudi-backed forces were going to come to his aid.

A deal seems to have been brokered, contingent on Saleh announcing that he was splitting from the Houthis.

With the Houthis increasingly dominant on the ground that was always going to be a risk, but at first it seemed to be paying off.

Saleh allies took control of southern Sanaa relatively quickly and the Saudis announced their support for what they called a "revolution" against the Houthis.

Pro-Riyadh media switched from describing Saleh as a "deposed dictator" to Yemen's "former president". But the move backfired.

By Sunday, Houthi militias were in control of much of Sanaa and fierce battles were taking place around the homes of key Saleh family members.

Rumours that Saudi-backed Yemeni forces would soon cross front lines near the capital to come to Saleh's aid proved false.

The increasingly embattled Saleh was apparently fleeing the capital when his convoy was stopped at a Houthi checkpoint.

He was either killed in the ensuing gun battle, or - some of his supporters say - executed on the spot.
Click to expand...

Anyway, this analysis repeatedly asks us to believe that although Saleh was a slippery fucker who was involved in causing this chaos, things must surely become worse now that this strong dealmaker is deceased.

Saleh will be remembered as the man who shaped modern Yemen in his own image, but who was more willing to burn the country to the ground than relinquish power.

Yet without his deal-making skills, the civil war he helped to spark and the devastating humanitarian crisis it caused are only likely to get worse.
Click to expand...

With Saleh dead and his allied forces apparently crumbling in the face of a Houthi onslaught, the future of Yemen's conflict looks grim.
Click to expand...

Saleh was a divisive figure, but he was also the person most likely to be able to broker some kind of settlement. His death will only lead to deeper polarisation in the conflict.
Click to expand...

Yemen's future looks grim after Saleh's killing

Personally I doubt I shall mourn the loss of any Saleh-brokered solutions to the numerous woes of Yemen.
 
There was certainly plenty of dodgy sentiments on display in the immediate aftermath of his death, hence my post highlighting Chatham house analysis that things will be worse without his deal-making.

The Guardian obituary did manage to touch on some of his dodgy antics like the 'Al Qaeda ambivalence' but not the Saddam stuff or much of the bloody dealing with opponents.

Ali Abdullah Saleh obituary

Fun detail:

For years, Saleh was reputedly a regular chewer of qat – Yemen’s national drug – and, since it causes wakefulness, would often follow it up with tipples of whisky in order to sleep. It was at the whisky stage that Saleh got most of his worst ideas, according to one former prime minister who used to unplug his phone at 10pm to avoid presidential calls.
Click to expand...
 
As you pair have been following this more closely than I would you care to venure an opinion on what this means for the ongoing conflict? Longer or shorter? (I realise these are simplistic questions but as I say, I've not looked beyon main stream newspaper articles). ta.
 
Opinion on Twitter seems to suggest a prolongation of the fighting and indeed some residents of Sana'a have reported having to leave their homes because of the streetfighting which is the first time this has happened during the conflict. There was also news of a renewed intensity of bombing by the coalition on the news of Saleh's death. Whether or not you believe that Saleh could have been a potential deal maker is neither here nor there now. Houthis have reportedly rounded up tribal leaders who were loyal to Saleh presumably for leverage purposes. One thing that people here could do to help if they've got a few bob to spare is support the action by CAAT who are taking the UK government to court over our continued supply of weaponry and personnel to the Saudis. We are by far and away the largest supplier of both.

Stop Arming Saudi Arabia
 
DotCommunist said:
As you pair have been following this more closely than I would you care to venure an opinion on what this means for the ongoing conflict? Longer or shorter? (I realise these are simplistic questions but as I say, I've not looked beyon main stream newspaper articles). ta.
Click to expand...

What teqniq said. I would add that events prior to Salehs death did give credence to the idea that the Saudis are looking for an exit. I can't add much more until we find out what, if anything, remains of Salehs political party & fighting forces. The UAE still have Salehs most prominent son, who they had as a backup plan in case anything happened to Saleh, but Im not sure how much use he is if the Houthis retain control of the capital and/or if Salehs network of patronage and corruption is permanently smashed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Britain, Yemen of the West?
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
littlebabyjesus
littlebabyjesus
klang
Positive Thoughts On Yemen
Replies
1
Views
608
krtek a houby
krtek a houby
L
Another attempt at oil facilites in Yemen
Replies
0
Views
438
lostexpectation
L
moono
Yemenites ethnically cleansed by extremists.
Replies
4
Views
636
Grandma Death
Grandma Death
Back
Top Bottom