Ahmed Saleh Presents Himself as Successor to His Father, Criticizes 'Unjust' Sanctions against Him

Yemenis take part in a demonstration outside the house of Ahmed Saleh, following his father’s assassination by the Houthis in Sanaa. (Photo: Getty Images/ MOHAMMED HUWAIS)
Yemenis take part in a demonstration outside the house of Ahmed Saleh, following his father’s assassination by the Houthis in Sanaa. (Photo: Getty Images/ MOHAMMED HUWAIS)
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Ahmed Saleh Presents Himself as Successor to His Father, Criticizes 'Unjust' Sanctions against Him

Yemenis take part in a demonstration outside the house of Ahmed Saleh, following his father’s assassination by the Houthis in Sanaa. (Photo: Getty Images/ MOHAMMED HUWAIS)
Yemenis take part in a demonstration outside the house of Ahmed Saleh, following his father’s assassination by the Houthis in Sanaa. (Photo: Getty Images/ MOHAMMED HUWAIS)

Ahmed Saleh, the eldest son of late former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, described UN sanctions against him as “unjust”, in his first official response to a recent decision by the Security Council to extend the sanctions.

Although Saleh's son’s statement was mainly devoted to thanking participants in the campaign that called for lifting the sanctions, it carried other concealed message that he was seeking to succeed his father to lead the General People’s Congress party and to join the Yemeni legitimate authority and the Arab Coalition in the battle against of the Houthi rebels.

Ahmed vowed to follow his father’s path, saying: “The right choice for Yemen is to assume its role alongside its brothers and neighbors in the region and the world through positive partnership and effective brotherly cooperation.”

Commenting on the UN decision to extend the sanctions against him, he said: “Everyone knows for sure that [sanctions] were not based on any fair criteria. They were imposed under Chapter VII of the sanctions, in response to the wishes of the political conspiracies and abuse.”

The Houthi militia launched a sharp attack that included harsh insults to the former United Nations envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in response to his recent briefing to the UN Security Council at the end of his international mission.

The governor of state-institutions that are currently under Houthi control in Sanaa and other provinces, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, described the envoy as the “nightmare of the United Nations.”

On his Twitter account, al-Houthi accused Ould Cheikh Ahmed of committing “major sins” and legalizing an “economic war” against his people.

In his briefing to the Security Council, Ould Sheikh Ahmed said the pro-Iranian group has refused, at the last minute of the Kuwait negotiations meeting in 2016, to sign a comprehensive agreement to achieve peace in Yemen.

The UN envoy went on to say that the Houthi rebels were not ready for peace and represented a fundamental dilemma in reaching a consensual solution.



US Airstrikes Kill 2 in Yemen as Trump’s Bombing Video Suggests Higher Death Toll

People assess the damage following reported overnight strikes that the Houthis said hit the Water Management building in Mansouriya in Yemen's Hodeidah, on April 2, 2025. (AFP)
People assess the damage following reported overnight strikes that the Houthis said hit the Water Management building in Mansouriya in Yemen's Hodeidah, on April 2, 2025. (AFP)
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US Airstrikes Kill 2 in Yemen as Trump’s Bombing Video Suggests Higher Death Toll

People assess the damage following reported overnight strikes that the Houthis said hit the Water Management building in Mansouriya in Yemen's Hodeidah, on April 2, 2025. (AFP)
People assess the damage following reported overnight strikes that the Houthis said hit the Water Management building in Mansouriya in Yemen's Hodeidah, on April 2, 2025. (AFP)

Suspected US airstrikes killed at least two people overnight in a stronghold of Yemen's Houthis, the group said Sunday, as a bombing video posted by US President Donald Trump suggested casualties in the campaign may be higher than the militants acknowledge.

The strikes in Saada killed two people and wounded four others, with footage aired by the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel showing a strike collapsing what appeared to be a two-story building. The Iranian-backed Houthis aired no footage from inside the building, which they described as a solar power shop.

The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under Trump targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war has killed at least 69 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis.

However, the Houthis have not acknowledged any casualties from their security and military leadership — something challenged after an online video posted by Trump.

Early Saturday, Trump posted what appeared to be black-and-white video from a drone of a group of several dozen people gathered in a circle. An explosion detonates during the 25-second video, with a massive crater left in its wake.

“These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack,” Trump claimed, without offering a location for the attack or any other details about the strike. “Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!”

The US military's Central Command, which oversees America's Mideast military operations, has not published the video, nor offered any specific details about the strikes it has conducted since March 15. The White House has said there have been over 200 strikes so far targeting the Houthis.

The Houthi-controlled SABA news agency in Yemen, citing an anonymous source, described the bombing as targeting “a social Eid visit in Hodeidah governorate.” Muslims across the world just celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the festival at the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. SABA had published images of other commanders meeting fighters during the holiday, though not any high-level Houthi officials.

“Those present at that gathering had no connection to the operations carried out by the (Houthis), which are implementing the decision to ban navigation on ships linked to the American and Israeli enemy,” the SABA report said, adding that the attack killed and wounded “dozens.”

However, the Houthis previously have not acknowledged any strike on Hodeidah during that time with such a high casualty count. The SABA report also did not describe those killed as civilians, suggesting those killed had ties to the militants’ security or military forces.

Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert of the Basha Report risk advisory firm, cited social media condolence notices suggesting a colonel overseeing police stations for the Houthis in Hodeidah had been killed in the strike Trump highlighted alongside his two brothers.

“The strikes have expanded significantly, hitting multiple governorates simultaneously, alongside telecommunications infrastructure, command nodes, properties tied to senior Houthi leadership and previously untouched tunnel networks in mountainous areas,” al-Basha told The Associated Press.

“We’ve also seen direct targeting of Houthi force gatherings, indicating a more aggressive and evolving shift in the targeting strategy,” al-Basha said.

An AP review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former US President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.

The new campaign of airstrikes started after the militants threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.

The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.

The campaign shows no signs of stopping as the Trump administration repeatedly has linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.