Former Yemen president Saleh says will not leave country

CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Yemen president Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would not leave the country in a post on his official Facebook page on Friday, contradicting reports in the Gulf Arab media that he sought a safe exit. "I'm not the type who goes looking for a place to live in Jeddah, Paris or Europe. My country is my birthplace. The person who can say to Ali Abdullah Saleh 'leave your country' has not been and will not be born," he wrote. A Saudi-led alliance has been bombing Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels and army units loyal to Saleh for three weeks, fuelling speculation that he might seek a political settlement that protects him and his powerful family. (Reporting By Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Noah Browning; Editing by Michael Georgy and John Stonestreet)