Son of slain Yemeni former President Saleh vows revenge

The exiled son of Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh called for revenge against the Houthi rebels that killed the leader after he switched sides in the civil war, Saudi-owned al-Ekbariya TV reported on Tuesday.

Former Yemeni president Saleh joined ranks with the Iranian-backed Houthis in 2014 to seize Sanaa and drove out President Abd Raboo Mansour Hadi’s internationally-recognised government.

The fragile alliance pitched them against the Saudi-led coalition backing President Hadi.

Internal rifts however caused Yemen’s rebel alliance, in control of the capital since 2014, to unravel in recent days with security forces reporting some 60 combatants killed in clashes between the two sides across the capital. 

Saleh who announced on Saturday the end of his three-year alliance with the Houthis was killed by the Iranian-backed rebels on Monday as he attempted to flee the capital.

Yemen's capital was quiet on Tuesday after five days of fighting and overnight strikes. Saleh’s funeral is expected later on Tuesday.

Yemen is now plunged into uncertainty, and much depends on the future allegiance of his loyalists who were siding with the Houthis until Saturday.

The blood of my father will be hell ringing in the ears of Iran

Saleh’s son reportedly called on loyalists to "take back Yemen from the Iranian Houthi militias", saying: "I will lead the battle until the last Houthi is thrown out of Yemen... the blood of my father will be hell ringing in the ears of Iran."

The Yemen war has claimed more than 10,000 lives since the Saudi-led campaign began. The country is now facing what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.