Ex-Leader Accuses Yemen President of Aiding Huthi Militias
Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh on Monday accused his successor of helping Shiite Huthi militias overrun Sanaa to curb the growing influence of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood.
Saleh, who has been slapped with U.N. Security Council and U.S. sanctions for obstructing peace, said in a television interview he had played "no role" in supporting the unopposed seizure of the capital by the Huthis, known also as Ansarullah, in September.
"The president (Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi) is the one who brought Ansarullah into Sanaa to fight the Muslim Brotherhood," Saleh told Egyptian channel CBC Extra.
"Government institutions were handed over to Huthis," he said, arguing that Hadi wanted to curb the influence of Sunni Islamists linked to Egypt's banned group.
The Huthis had expanded their control out of their northern stronghold before seizing the capital. Since then, they have stretched to coastal areas and regions south of the Sanaa, where they met resistance from Sunni tribes and al-Qaida fighters.
Saleh said however that he was not willing to fight the Huthis, whose rebellion he fought for over a decade as president before he stepped down in February 2012 following nationwide protests.
"I am not against the Huthis because they have become a political force in the country," he said, urging their "incorporation in power."
The U.S. Treasury blacklisted Saleh and two Huthi chiefs earlier this month, shortly after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on the three men for allegedly threatening the U.N.-backed political transition in the impoverished country.
Saleh said the sanctions were the result of an "official request" by Hadi and called for them to be lifted.
He also said he had refused a "U.S. and Arab offer" to leave Yemen for up to six months, saying it could mean "no return" for him.
Source: Agence France Presse
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