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| Arabia |
| Saleh's son removed from military posts |
| 2013-04-15 |
| [Khaleej Times] Yemen's president removed his predecessor's son and nephews from powerful security posts on Wednesday in the most dramatic step yet in sidelining old regime figures, according to the nation's state-run media. 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... , who stepped down in early 2012 after more than a year of protests against his rule, placed relatives and loyalists in top military and government posts over his 33-year rule. They have been accused of obstructing the US-backed government as it tries to reform and fight an active Al Qaeda branch in the country. Fireworks went off in the capital, Sanaa, and Yemen's second largest city, Taiz, after the announcement. Restructuring the army was a top demand by Yemenis after Saleh's ouster. His vice-president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, took over in a power transfer deal brokered by Yemen's powerful Gulf neighbours and backed by the United States. Hadi has since been trying to remove former regime loyalists over concerns that Saleh was using them to further destabilise the turmoil-wracked country. Washington has expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... that some in the military have been taking advantage of their positions for personal gain to interfere in the country's transition, since regime change threatens their personal interests. The UN Security Council warned Saleh directly that he could face sanctions if attempts to undermine the new national unity government persist. In his latest move, Hadi not only removed Saleh's son and two nephews from their posts, but also effectively ordered them to leave the country by posting them abroad. He removed Saleh's son Ahmed as head of the Republican Guard and appointed him ambassador. The force is an elite army unit that was once the backbone of Saleh's rule. It was supposed to be reorganised and brought under the control of the Defence Ministry according to Hadi's orders last year, but those changes had not materialised on the ground. In a sign of how challenging the overhaul has been, Republican Guard troops earlier this week forced businesses closed and clashed with police and residents in the city of Radda, about 160km south of the capital. |
| Posted by:Fred |