Saahir Salim
Saahir Salim | |
|---|---|
محمد عرقاب | |
.jpg) Saahir Salim in 2023 | |
| Interim-President of Zalluabed | |
| Assumed office 20 August 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Husani Antar (ousted) |
| Deputy-Minister of Defense | |
| Assumed office 1 April 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Jirhanu Bjyala |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 February 1966 Zakaraban,  Zalluabed |
| Occupation |
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Saahir Salim (19 February 1966 - 26 October 2023) was a Zalluabedi military general and politician who was the interim-President of Zalluabed, having ousted Husani Antar in the 20 August 2023 coup, until his death in a Zamastanian airstrike in Zakaraban. Prior to his assuming executive power, Salim was the Deputy-Minister of Defense and head of the Royal Zalluabed Defense Forces, and he was highly respected among the military forces of Zalluabed. His political alliances with Presidents Abdelaziz Melkabaar and Zayyaan al-Akhtar solidified his position within the armed forces, but the election of Husani Antar in early 2023 and his subsequent progressive reforms, including the intention to leave the TTPA, led Salim and ideologically like-minded military officers to enact a coup against Antar. Antar was ousted, and he fled into exile in Albarine shortly after. Salim assumed all executive power, including suspending the authority of King Farik al-Jamura. After the coup, a civil war broke out in Zalluabed between Salim's forces and pro-Antar rebels. Salim was killed in a drone strike by Zamastan.
Salim was amongst the most popular personalities in Zalluabed, viewed by many as a "selfless hero fighting Zalluabed's enemies", by others as a "murderer". Internationally, Salim has been labeled an authoritarian and warmonger, having been responsible for controversial Zalluabedi military action during the Tarijar Strait standoff, Hisrea War, the 2021 attack on the ZMS Monserrati, and after assuming executive power, the civil war. His orders are believed to have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in Hisrea. He has also been credibly accused of propping up the regime of Asaad al-Shaad in Terehan, and providing funding to the Islamic Terehanian Alliance State.