The deputy head of Yemen's rebel administration has fled a crackdown by Houthi (Ansarallah) fighters in Sanaa following the killing of his ally, ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, sources said Wednesday (December 13th).
Qasim al-Kasadi, a senior official in Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party, had escaped the capital for his hometown in al-Bayda province, tribal sources and an official close to him told AFP.
The central province is under the control of Yemen's internationally recognised government, where al-Kasadi enjoys the protection of his tribe.
His escape follows the bloody unravelling of a three-year governing alliance between the GPC and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
The GPC battled the Houthis earlier this month for control of Sanaa, but appears to have lost all direction after its veteran leader, Saleh, was gunned down by Houthi fighters on December 4th.
In the wake of the strongman's killing, the Houthis pledged to protect members of the GPC, but the rival party has reported a massive crackdown.
There was no indication al-Kasadi had joined the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which is based in the southern city of Aden and backed by an Arab military coalition.
