Why did Saudi Arabia save Yemen’s ex-president again ?

/saudi-arabia-yemen-save-ali-abdullah-sa

  • Why did Saudi Arabia save Yemen’s ex-president again ?
    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/saudi-arabia-yemen-save-ali-abdullah-saleh-russia.html

    The Saudis are increasingly desperate to find a way out of the Yemeni quagmire. They apparently believe Yemen’s ex-dictator, their longtime enemy Ali Abdullah Saleh, can help.

    A Russian medical team flew into Sanaa on Oct. 11 with the approval of the Saudis, who control Yemeni airspace. The Russian surgeons then performed a life-saving procedure on the 75-year-old Saleh. Some reports say the surgery took place at the Russian Embassy in the capital. Saleh’s exact health issue is unclear, but it apparently is a result of the severe burns and other injuries he suffered during an assassination attempt in 2011. At the time, the Saudis rushed him to a hospital in the kingdom, where his life was saved. He formally gave up the presidency the next year.

    (...) After the Russian doctors saved Saleh, the Saudi press reported: “Saudi-led coalition intervenes to save seriously ill Saleh’s life!” The reports noted that this is the second time Riyadh saved Saleh from his injuries. No explanation for why Riyadh wanted Saleh to live was offered. Nor was the permission to fly into Sanaa, breaking the Saudi blockade of Yemen, put into a larger context.

    Most likely the Saudis are hoping to break the rebel alliance between Saleh and the Houthis, which has been fraying this year. The Saudi war effort is costly and contributing to the flatlining of the Saudi economy. It is unpopular in the West. The battlefield is a brutal stalemate that has produced the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world. If the rebels split, perhaps the Saudis and their partners can prevail against the Houthis.

    #yémen