Ex-Yemen president buried in Sanaa: Official

By Murad Al-Arifi

SANAA

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was shot dead by Houthi rebels last week, has been buried in the capital Sanaa, a senior official from Saleh’s party has confirmed.

Yasser al-Awadi, the assistant secretary-general of the General People’s Congress (GPC), said on Twitter on Sunday the bodies of Saleh and GPC Secretary-General Aref al-Zouka had been buried without a customary funeral.

He said a limited number of Saleh’s relatives attended the burial ceremony, stressing that Houthi rebels had refused to hold a customary funeral for the former president or announce the date of his burial.

Last week, Houthi militiamen executed Saleh -- who had until recently been considered one of the group’s primary allies -- after waylaying his motorcade outside the capital. His murder came after days of deadly fighting between Houthi rebels and his loyalists across the capital, which they jointly overran in 2014.

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

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen.