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Defense Ministry denies spending $7 million for brigades
[Yemen Post] Yemen's Defense Ministry has denied spending of $ 7 million for two brigades of the Republican Guard led by a son of the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh.... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... A military official said the news posted by Akhbar Alyawam Newspaper on Monday about spending of $ 7 million for the two brigades was groundless, pointing out that the news aimed at sparking hatred and hostility among military brigades. He affirmed that the ministry will file a lawsuit against the newspaper. The Yemeni military had divided into two parts, a part that supported the anti-Saleh protests and another part stayed loyal to Saleh and his family that controls most divisions of the military. Akhbar Alyawam, a newspaper closed to the defected General Ali Mohsin Saleh, had reported the Defense Minister Mohammad Nasser Ahmed ordered to grant two Republican Guard brigades an amount of $7 million. The newspaper revealed thon the lam amounts were spent by the Finance Department of the Defense Minster to some persons and gunnies who are loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemeni economists have criticized an increase of YR 317 billion (USD 1.4 billion) for the Defense Ministry's 2012 budget, pointing out that the ministry is infested with corruption. Ali Alwafi, an economist, described the 2012 budget as the worst ever, pointing out that numerous allocations were added to items of the budget that will not be of benefit to the people. Officials said the increase in spending came in response to the security and political unrest that shook Yemen over the past year. Posted by: Fred 2012-05-09 |
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