Yemen's Saleh rejects UN chief's accusations

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday rejected the United Nation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s accusations that he supports the Shia Houthi rebels in “undermining” the political process in Yemen, a source in Saleh’s office said.

The source said in a statement: “Saleh and the General People’s Congress have nothing to do with the country’s development since the handover of power in 2012 in a peaceful and democratic manner,” expressing “surprise” at the UN chief’s position which “perhaps resulted from relying on false and misleading information against President Saleh.”

The source called on the UN chief “not to adopt positions that could adversely affect the Yemeni people’s unity” renewing “calls for all parties to immediately sit at the dialogue table in order to guide the country into safety”.

Media reports circulated remarks attributed to Ban in which he accused former President Saleh and Houthi rebels of undermining the political process in Yemen.