Former Yemeni President Saleh Killed in Sana’a

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Reuters)
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Reuters)
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Former Yemeni President Saleh Killed in Sana’a

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Reuters)
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Reuters)

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed on Monday by the Houthi militias.

Sources from his General People’s Congress announced that he was killed during the ongoing battles in the capital Sana’a. They did not disclose details about his death.

Social media websites posted photos and videos showing Saleh’s corpse with signs of severe injuries that led to his death.

His death came hours after the Houthis bombed his residence in central Sana’a. The houses of his relatives in the capital were also stormed and seized.

There have been conflicting reports about how he was killed. Some reports speculated that he may have been killed by a sniper gunshot, not in his house explosion.

The General People’s Congress announced later on Monday that a successor to Saleh will be announced within days.

“His death has fueled the anger of the Yemenis against the Houthis,” it added.

Sana’a has since Wednesday been witnessing fierce clashes between the Houthi militants and Saleh supporters, leaving hundreds dead and injured.

On Saturday, Saleh announced that he was ready to open a new page of ties with the Saudi-led coalition aimed at restoring legitimacy in Yemen, effectively ending his three-year alliance with the Iran-backed Houthis.

Saleh, 75, ruled Yemen from 1978 until 2011.



Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
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Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French envoy shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
Aoun's election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon's system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the Lebanese army since 2017.