Slain Yemeni ex-president’s relatives arrive in Oman

By Mubarak Mohamed

SANAA, Yemen (AA) - Twenty-two relatives of Yemen’s slain former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, have arrived in Oman, the Oman News Agency reported Friday.

According to the news agency, the move comes within the context of Oman’s “ongoing humanitarian efforts to deal with events in the Yemeni arena”.

“In cooperation with the relevant Yemeni authorities in Sanaa, 22 relatives of late former president Saleh arrived in the sultanate late yesterday [Thursday],” the news agency reported.

It did not provide any additional details.

A border official in Yemen’s Al-Mahra province, which borders Oman, told Anadolu Agency on Friday that Saleh’s relatives had crossed the border late Thursday.

The official, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, said most of the new arrivals were women and children.

Earlier this month, Houthi militiamen executed Saleh, who had previously been considered a Houthi ally, after waylaying his motorcade outside Yemeni capital Sanaa.

His death followed days of deadly fighting across the capital between Houthi rebels and Saleh loyalists.

Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when the Houthis and pro-Saleh forces together overran much of the country, including Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains and shoring up Yemen’s pro-Saudi government.

The country currently faces what the UN has called “the worst humanitarian disaster of modern times”, with millions of Yemenis reportedly on the verge of starvation.