Manama: Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh had predicted he would be assassinated by the Al Houthi militias, a Kuwaiti daily reported, citing an interview of Saleh published one day before his death.
“The time of coexistence between the state and the militia is over,” he told Al Rai.
“The Al Houthis are planning to kill Ali Abdullah Saleh, the sons of his brother Tariq Mohammad Abdullah Saleh, and Mohammad Mohammad Abdullah Saleh and Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf. They are also planning to arrest the majority of the leaders of the Congress Party to impose their control over the entire state in Sanaa and announce a religious state, like Iran.”
Statement
Al Rai said the former president after making the statement about the plan to assassinate him asked the reporter to attribute it to a leading figure within the Congress Party to avoid “sensitivities”.
Interview
Al Rai said that the interview was the last to be given by the ex-president to the media. He was assassinated Monday afternoon.
In the interview, the former leader who ruled Yemen for 33 years insisted there was no place for a statelet within the state, referring to the Al Houthi militias.
New chapter
Saleh said he was looking forward to a new chapter in relations with Yemen’s neighbours and their allies.
He pledged that following the cease fire and the lifting of the blockade on the airports, he would enter into negotiations with Yemen's neighbours and allies through the legitimate authority of the parliament and that he would remove any militia in the country.
