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Ousted Yemen president travels secretly to Egypt

December 17, 2016 at 3:47 pm

Ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has recently paid a secret visit to Cairo and spent at least a day meeting with Egyptian officials, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported yesterday.

According to senior Egyptian diplomatic sources, Saleh met with Egyptian officials during his visit, which was kept secret because it came during a time of tense relations between Cairo and Riyadh.

Diplomatic sources said that Saleh discussed the Yemeni crisis and how to reach a deal agreed by all sides, while pushing for Egypt to continue to oppose the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood, allegedly supported by Saudi Arabia.

The sources did not identify the names or levels of Egyptian officials who met Saleh.

Saleh’s visit to Cairo came amidst sanctions imposed on his funds and travel by the UN Security Council due to undermining the political process in Yemen.

Yemeni Brigadier-General Murad Al-Obali, close to Saleh, wrote on his Facebook page about his visit to Cairo: “Ali Abdullah Saleh travelled abroad during the last few days and returned back. I do not want anyone to ask me when or where he travelled.”

The UN Security Council had rejected Saleh’s request to travel to Cuba to offer his condolences and attend the funeral of long-time Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.