jamieooh
08-14-2012, 12:56 PM
Aug. 14, 2012 - 10:26AM |
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SANAA — Yemeni troops from the elite Republican Guard force, led by the son of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, attacked the headquarters of the defense ministry Aug. 14, witnesses said.
The forces laid siege to the ministry in Sanaa before attacking it with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, witnesses said.
The attack comes a week after new president Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi ordered a restructuring of army forces, reducing the number of units under the command of rival chiefs, including Saleh’s son.
The troops, led by Gen. Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, blocked the roads leading to the ministry in central Sanaa, said witnesses, who added that they had come from the main base of the Republican Guard in Sawad, south of the capital.
Other witnesses said that these forces exchanged fire with police on their way to the ministry.
Yemeni army reinforcements were deployed around the residence of Hadi, who replaced Saleh in a Gulf-brokered peace deal that ended 13 months of protests against the veteran leader, witnesses said.
Other reinforcements were stationed around the central bank, where employees were evacuated, other witnesses said.
In a presidential decree last week, Hadi ordered the formation of a "presidential protection" force which will include three brigades from the Republican Guard.
The force will also include a brigade from the First Armoured Division, led by Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who defected to the anti-Saleh opposition last year, official news agency Saba reported.
Hadi assigned other brigades from the two rival units to the central and southern regions, it added.
Under the terms of the peace agreement, Hadi is tasked with restructuring the military and security apparatus, which had been controlled by officials with close ties to Saleh and accused of corruption.
On July 31, a group of policemen occupied the interior ministry and clashed with other forces in a gunfight that left 15 people dead.
Yemen’s Supreme Security Committee blamed the assault on "a group of inciters among the ranks of the police force aiming to undermine security," and the government accused those behind the attack of "seeking to spread chaos in a desperate attempt to undermine the political process in Yemen."
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120814/DEFREG04/308140002/Yemeni-Troops-Attack-Defense-Ministry-Witnesses-Say?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SANAA — Yemeni troops from the elite Republican Guard force, led by the son of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, attacked the headquarters of the defense ministry Aug. 14, witnesses said.
The forces laid siege to the ministry in Sanaa before attacking it with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, witnesses said.
The attack comes a week after new president Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi ordered a restructuring of army forces, reducing the number of units under the command of rival chiefs, including Saleh’s son.
The troops, led by Gen. Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, blocked the roads leading to the ministry in central Sanaa, said witnesses, who added that they had come from the main base of the Republican Guard in Sawad, south of the capital.
Other witnesses said that these forces exchanged fire with police on their way to the ministry.
Yemeni army reinforcements were deployed around the residence of Hadi, who replaced Saleh in a Gulf-brokered peace deal that ended 13 months of protests against the veteran leader, witnesses said.
Other reinforcements were stationed around the central bank, where employees were evacuated, other witnesses said.
In a presidential decree last week, Hadi ordered the formation of a "presidential protection" force which will include three brigades from the Republican Guard.
The force will also include a brigade from the First Armoured Division, led by Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who defected to the anti-Saleh opposition last year, official news agency Saba reported.
Hadi assigned other brigades from the two rival units to the central and southern regions, it added.
Under the terms of the peace agreement, Hadi is tasked with restructuring the military and security apparatus, which had been controlled by officials with close ties to Saleh and accused of corruption.
On July 31, a group of policemen occupied the interior ministry and clashed with other forces in a gunfight that left 15 people dead.
Yemen’s Supreme Security Committee blamed the assault on "a group of inciters among the ranks of the police force aiming to undermine security," and the government accused those behind the attack of "seeking to spread chaos in a desperate attempt to undermine the political process in Yemen."
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120814/DEFREG04/308140002/Yemeni-Troops-Attack-Defense-Ministry-Witnesses-Say?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE