YEMEN: Funeral of Yemen's parliament speaker Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar is held in Sanaa

Record ID: 270019

  • Title: YEMEN: Funeral of Yemen's parliament speaker Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar is held in Sanaa
  • Date: 31st December 2007
  • Summary: (MER1) SANAA, YEMEN (DECEMBER 31, 2007) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FUNERAL CEREMONY FOR SPEAKER OF YEMEN'S PARLIAMENT ABDULLAH BIN HUSSEIN AL-AHMAR IN FRONT OF THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE BUILDING PRESIDENT ALI ABDULLAH SALEH AND OTHER OFFICIALS WALKING IN PROCESSION AT CEREMONY SALEH AND EXILED HAMAS LEADER KHALED MESHAAL WALKING IN PROCESSION AT CEREMONY RELATIVES OF AL-AHMAR AT CEREMONY
  • Embargoed: 15th January 2008 12:00
  • Keywords: Yemdunc
  • Location: Yemen
  • Country: Yemen
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA73PCUGRDNLVIB6D2IYVZ8IB4M
  • Story Text: Hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral for the speaker of Yemen's parliament and head of the al-Islah opposition party Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar in Sanaa on Monday (December 31).
    A ceremony was held for al-Ahmar at the ministry of defence. His body was then carried in a coffin aboard a military vehicle, and led to its final resting place in a funeral procession attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners and supporters.
    President Ali Abdullah Saleh and other high ranking officials, including Yemeni Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Majour, attended the funeral procession. Other officials included exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.
    Al-Ahmar died in Saudi Arabia on Saturday (December 29) after a long illness. His body was flown from Saudi Arabia to Yemen on Sunday (December 30).
    It was not clear who would succeed al-Ahmar as head of the Yemeni parliament, a position he had held since 1993, or as head of the main opposition al-Islah (Reform) Party.
    Born in 1933, al-Ahmar was head of the powerful Hashed tribal confederation and has played a key role in the turbulent politics of the impoverished Arab state for almost half a century.
    Al-Ahmar took part in elections through the al-Islah party, which combines tribal and Islamic elements, following the unification of northern Yemen with the communist south of the country in 1990 after years of conflict.
    In 1995, he negotiated a settlement that ended Yemen's border dispute with neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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