Slain Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s half-brother, Brigadier Ali Saleh al-Ahmar, has escaped from Houthi controlled Sanaa and reached the Marib governorate, according to local Yemeni sources.

A government source told local newspapers that Brigadier al-Ahmar was able to escape from Sanaa despite the tight security grip on the entrances and exits of the city by the Houthi militia.

The source did not disclose the way that al-Ahmar escaped from the Houthis who have arrested dozens of Saleh’s family members as well as military leaders who were close to him.

Al-Ahmar is considered a high-ranking military official, and the first of Saleh’s relatives to reach the safety of a legitimate forces controlled area.

Al-Ahmar was previously the commander of the Republican Guard, and also served as the head of the office of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces where he stayed until the fall of Saleh’s regime in 2011.

Source: Alarabiya