Saleh claims Saudis offered him millions to fight Houthis

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh claimed on Friday that the Saudi authorities had offered him millions of US dollars in order to fight against the Houthi militias, AFP reported.

“They told us ‘we will pay you millions of dollars if you ally with us'” against the Houthis, Saleh told the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV, adding that he rejected the offer. “We will not let go of the Houthis,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a multi-national force against the Houthis and Saleh’s troops, who seized control of most of Yemen’s territories two months.

The former president had ruled Yemen between 1978 and 2012, when he was forced to step down by popular uprising. During his long tenure, he waged nine wars against the Houthis.

“Our difference with the Houthis… was administrative, not ideological,” he told Al-Mayadeen TV.

Saleh accused Saudi Arabia of seeking to sow “sedition” in Yemen, and said its “hatred” for the Houthis was “sectarian.”

He also said: “I will not accept power for myself or my son” [Ahmed], who led the elite Republican Guard troops during his rule.