In May 2015, Saleh openly allied with the Houthis (Ansar Allah) during the Yemeni Civil War,&lt;ref name="http://www.aljazeera.com2"&gt;&lt;/ref&gt; in which a protest movement and subsequent insurgency succeeded in capturing Yemen's capital, Sana'a, causing President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi to resign and flee the country. In December 2017, he declared his withdrawal from his coalition with the Houthis and instead sided with his former enemies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and President Hadi.