Half brother of Yemen's slain ex-president to head forces
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Yemen's president has appointed the half brother of the country's slain ex-president to head a military force.
Saturday's decision by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi assigns Ali Saleh al-Ahmar, the half brother of ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, as commander of the country's reserve force.
Al-Ahmar fled the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, to Saudi Arabia following Saleh's death in December at the hands of Shiite Houthi rebels, Saleh's onetime allies.
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The Houthis and Saleh's forces joined ranks in 2014, sweeping the capital and forcing Hadi's internationally recognized government to flee. Months later, a Saudi-led coalition backed Hadi's government and waged an all-out campaign against the Houthis and Saleh's forces.
Saleh was killed after he expressed readiness to negotiate with the coalition, a move the Houthis saw as betrayal.