UAE prince issues condolences for slain Yemen ex-leader

By Ali Oweida

MAARIB, Yemen

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday offered his condolences to the son of Yemen’s slain former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s official WAM news agency reported.

On Monday, Houthi militiamen executed Saleh after waylaying his motorcade outside Sanaa, Yemen’s Houthi-held capital.

According to WAM, Al Nahyan, who also serves as deputy supreme commander of the UAE’s armed forces, extended his condolences to the slain leader’s son, Ahmed Ali Saleh.

“While visiting Ahmed Ali Saleh at his Abu Dhabi residence, Sheikh Mohammed expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased,” the news agency reported.

Several other top UAE officials also extended their condolences to the slain leader’s family, including Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy PM and interior minister; and Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy PM and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

The eldest son of the slain former president, Ahmed Ali Saleh had served as Yemen’s ambassador to the UAE from 2013 to 2015.

On Tuesday, a Houthi spokesman alleged that the UAE had “led” Yemen’s slain president to his “shameful end”.

In televised comments, the spokesman accused Saleh of “conspiring with the enemy” -- a reference to a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen since 2015.

The spokesman went on to assert that the UAE had “led” Saleh into what he described as “his treasonable conspiracy” and his “shameful end”.

A leading member of the Saudi-led coalition, the UAE has so far refrained from commenting on the spokesman’s assertions.

Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when the Houthis and pro-Saleh forces overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains and shoring up Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.