Yemen’s longtime strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed in an attack in Sanaa on Monday. Iran-backed Houthi fighters seized control of much of the capital and blew up Saleh’s house, while coalition jets bombed their own positions yesterday, Reuters reports. The move comes a few days after Saleh switched sides in the conflict, shifting his allegiance to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition from the Houthis. Saleh had said on Saturday that he was ready for a “new page” in ties with the coalition and called the Houthis a “coup militia”. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry expressed condolences for his death, and decried the escalation of violence in Yemen in a statement on Monday. Saleh had ruled a unified Yemen since 1990 and was removed from power in 2012 after a Saudi-backed agreement following Arab Spring uprisings there in 2011.

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