Saleh blames Arab leaders for Yemen 'bloodshed'

Ex-Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Saturday blamed Arab leaders for the shedding of blood in his restive country.

In a televised address, Saleh described an ongoing Saudi-led military campaign against Yemen’s Shia Houthi group as “barbaric.”

He called for suspending the “aggression” against Yemen and solving the country’s problems through dialogue.

Several Arab states have joined a Saudi-led offensive, which kicked off late Wednesday with a string of airstrikes against the positions of the Houthi Shia militant group in Yemen, including some in capital Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to calls by Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention to “save the people from the Houthi militias.”

Fractious Yemen has been in turmoil since last September, when the Shia militants overran capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country as well.

Some Gulf countries accuse Shia Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency.