Sana’a: The Yemeni president has taken another major military shake-up aimed at restructuring and fully asserting his power over the country’s fragmented army.
Abd Rabbo Mansoor Hadi Wednesday night issued a series of many military decrees abolishing two of the major branches of the Yemen’s armed forces and stripped two of the powerful security chiefs. In one of his decisions, Hadi cancelled the elite Republican Guard, commanded by the son of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the First Armoured Division, commanded by general Ali Mohsen Al Ahmer. Hadi also dismissed Yahiya Mohammad Abdullah Saleh, another relative of the former president.
According to the government–run Saba news agency, Hadi merged all the military’s components into four branches; Ground Forces, Air Forces, Navy and Border Guard. Hadi also dismissed Brigadier Yahyia Mohammad Abdullah Saleh, the commander of the Central Security forces and the former president’s nephew, and replaced him with Brigadier Dr Ahmad Ali Al Magdeshi.
The president issued a decree detaching army’s missiles from all branches and created a body called the Missile Group containing three brigades and brought it under his command. Brigadier General Ali Mohsen Ali Muthana was appointed Commander of this group and three other new commanders were appointed commanders of the three brigades. Ahmad Ali was also removed from Special Forces and Brigadier General Ahmad Hussien Dahan replaced him.
Reaction
In his immediate reaction to the new decisions, general Ali Mohsen Al Ahmer, the commander of the First Armoured Division said that he supported Hadi’s new decisions as “they reorganiae the army and end the domination of each party.” There was no immediate reaction from Ahmad.
After Wednesday’s decisions, Hadi has completely removed all powerful army generals loyal to former president Saleh which is the key demand of the ongoing protests across the country. Anti-Saleh protesters said they would organize rallies across the country to support Hadi’s decisions.
Two months after his nomination, Hadi issued in April similar decrees replacing and removing some of Saleh’s relatives and other loyalists. Hadi removed Mohammad Saleh Ahmer, the commander of the Air Force and the step brother of Saleh, and Tarek Mohammad Abdullah Saleh, the former president’s nephew and the commander of the Presidential Guard. All the dismissed officials complied with Hadi’s decisions except Mohammad whose followers forced the closure of Sana’a airport in response.
