Ansarullah Leader Urges Dialogue with Ex-President Saleh

Speaking in a televised address on Saturday,al- Houthi said there had to be negotiations between the two sides to close the rift.

The forces loyal to the former president have been in an alliance with the Ansarullah fighters against a Saudi Arabian-led aggression on the impoverished state.

Their supporters have, however, become engaged in an armed conflict in the capital, Sana’a, over the past few days amid a strain in relations between the two sides.

Al-Houthi called on all Yemeni groups to work on maintaining peace and stability in the country, and urged Saleh to be wise and consider the national interests of Yemen.

He urged Yemeni factions and groups to focus on combatting the Saudi aggression, noting that division among Yemeni factions only served the interests of the Saudi-led alliance.

The Saudi-led military coalition has been continuously pounding Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to crush the popular Ansarullah movement and reinstate the former fugitive president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of the regime in Riyadh. Over 13,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, including women and children, have been killed in the Saudi-led aggression.