Yemen ex-president Saleh’s sons transferred to Jordan — Saudi-led coalition

RIYADH — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday announced they had released two of slain ex-president Ali Abdallah Saleh's sons, 10 months after they were captured following their father's murder, France-Presse Agence reported.

They were transferred from Sanaa, the capital held by the Houthi movement, to Jordan, according to Reuters, in an operation facilitated by a Saudi-led coalition, Saudi state TV said.

A Jordanian official confirmed Saleh’s two sons had arrived at Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport from Sanaa, where their plane was due to stay for one hour.

“It will go towards a third country,” the official said in a statement, without detailing the plane’s final destination. “The two sons will not enter Amman.”

Saleh was killed last year in a roadside attack after switching sides in Yemen’s civil war, abandoning his Iran-aligned Houthi allies in favour of the Saudi-led coalition.

His sons, Salah and Medyen, were taken to Sanaa International Airport on Wednesday and were expected to leave on a chartered UN flight, a source at the airport confirmed.

“The coalition announces that it has issued necessary authorisations to a UN flight to transport Saleh’s two sons,” Saudi state TV Al Ekhbaria said.

The office of the UN special envoy to Yemen could not be reached immediately for a comment.

The Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to restore the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, controls Yemen’s airspace, while the Houthis control the capital and the areas where most people live. Hadi’s government controls areas in the south.