Yemen: Saleh's party names new leader

The General People’s Congress (GPC) party appointed a new leader yesterday one month after former head, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was killed at the hands of the Houthis, Reuters reported.

Saleh has been succeeded by Sadeq Amin Abu Ras, a former minister of agriculture who will lead the party until the next general assembly. In its announcement of the decision, the party also condemned Saudi Arabia’s “aggression”, but did not mention the Houthi group or any alliance it will have.

Saleh severed an alliance with the Houthi group late last year as he sought to work with the Saudi-led coalition, which led to his killing two days later in Sana’a.

Internationally recognised President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi requested Saudi Arabia intervene in Yemen to help regain control of areas captured by the Houthi-Saleh alliance in 2014

Following Saleh’s death, one faction of the GPC’s army joined Hadi’s new alliance to fight the Houthis in a bid to retake the Red Sea port of Hudaydah and the capital Sana’a. The new alliance has successfully taken over control of the district of Khokha, 122 kilometres south of the Red Sea port.

The majority of the GPC leaders and forces have fled Sana’a, whilst some are still detained by the Houthis.

After Saleh’s killing, his son Ahmed Ali Saleh called for revenge to lead a military campaign against the Houthi group.

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