Nephew of the late Yemeni President Ali Abdullah and military commander Tareq Saleh successfully rallied tens of thousands of General People’s Congress supporters to commemorate the anniversary of his uncle’s death. The ceremony was held at Al Khawkhah District in Hodeidah. The late Saleh had founded the GPC in 1982. Tribal leaders, alongside Hodeidah governor Alhassan Al Taher, and lawmakers attended the event marking a year since the country’s former president was killed by Iran-backed Houthis for switching sides in the Yemeni conflict. At first, Saleh joined forces with Houthi coupist militias but later decided to reconcile with the war-torn country’s Arab neighbors. The ceremony comes two days after Saleh lambasting Iran-aligned Houthis in a tweet, describing the group as a ‘cancer’ targeting Yemen. After being freed from Houthi captivity, Saleh joined forces fighting against Houthis coupists and backing the government headed by the freely-elected President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Last April, he fought alongside the pro-government Giants Brigades in West Coast fronts. Hodeidah governor Taher, in his public address at the event, said that Saleh’s revolt against Houthis is a “victory for revolutionary and republic values,” praising those attending the ceremony for “expressing true and brave loyalty to Yemen’s national icons.” Promising justice for those committing violations against Yemenis (in a hint to Iran-allied armed factions), Taher said “west coast Yemenis are breathing freedom as a result of sacrifices made by National Army forces and Yemeni popular resistance fighters who inflicted devastating defeats on Houthis, Iranian forces, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants”. Iran and its proxies, namely Hezbollah, have been backing, arming and training Houthi insurgents in Yemen. Rally attendees released a collective statement denouncing Houthi atrocities committed in Hodiedah, a strategic port city located on the Red Sea, condemning the “militants using innocent civilians as human shields, bombing residential neighborhoods, attacking private and public buildings, and deliberately destroying vital infrastructure.” The statement added that Houthis appalling practices amount to war crimes.