Armies of Liberation

- How to help Yemen come unstuck by Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Article details how the immunity plan and the general air of impunity is hindering military/ security restructuring and reform in general, gives detailed action plan Also see Transition Needs Accountability, Security Reform, Human Rights Watch Delegation Completes Official Visit in Sanaa

- a good paper by Yemeni expert Nadwa Al Dawsari, April 2012 Carnegie: Tribal governance and conflict resolution traditions will again play a part in helping to ease tensions and mitigate conflicts that will arise as Yemen moves toward political transition. Tribal mechanisms for conflict resolution need to be ntegrated with the formal system so that they work alongside and complement formal institutions. Issues related to the stresses that the tribal system is facing must be addressed within that framework.

- The Social fund for Development www.sfd-yemen.org issued a “qualitative study it carried out on a sample of 74 of its beneficiary communities. The study quantifies economic and social impact of the events of 2011 on those communities.”

- Senior UN Official Concerned About Worsening Humanitarian Situation in Yemen: New data shows that food insecurity in Yemen has doubled over the last two years. Five million people, or nearly a quarter of the population, are severely food insecure, meaning that they are not able to grow or buy enough food for their family and need urgent assistance. At least 800,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition.

- Al Bab, Brian Whittiker’s blog, 4/9: The Saleh regime fights back

- HRW: US: Transfer CIA Drone Strikes to Military Ensure Intelligence Agency Abides by International Law

(New York, April 20, 2012) – Remarks by a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official suggesting the agency is not legally bound by the laws of war underscore the urgent need for the Obama administration to transfer command of all aerial drone strikes to the armed forces, Human Rights Watch said today.

The CIA’s general counsel, Stephen Preston, in a speech entitled “CIA and the Rule of Law” at Harvard Law School on April 10, 2012, said the agency would implement its authority to use force “in a manner consistent with the … basic principles” of the laws of war. The laws of war are not mere principles but legally binding restrictions on all forces of the parties to an armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said.

Building a Better Yemen Charles Schmitz Carnegie Paper, April 3, 2012, no comment; haven’t read it yet.

Bernard Haykel covers some of the basics so basic people seem to forget them, at his blog in Yemen after Saleh, What Next for Yemen?

Must read: Reforming Yemen’s Military by Chatham House’s Ginny Hill, March 22, 2012

Southern Observatory for Human Rights monthly report covering January 2012

Yemen – reported US covert actions since 2001 The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, comprehensive list

There’s one more good one somewhere in last months emails that discusses the schism between tribal leaders and their publics that was fostered by years of Saudi and Saleh patronage, ie- thousands in monthly payments, and argues against excessive reliance on Sheikhs as proxies of governance.

The Obama admin has approved droning Yemenis deemed a threat to the US even if their identities are not known. The US is currently relying heavily on aerial surveillance for intel on AQAP, following a decade of exclusively relying on half bogus intel from the subverted Saleh regime. And its likely the CIA/DOD has identified individuals regularly seen in the company of known al Qaeda leaders. However, sentencing random, unknown Yemenis to death based on tenuous associations or physical proximity is exactly the same rationale Al Qaeda used in justifying the murder of pedestrians passing the US Embassy in 2008. On a practical level, one more uniquely bad hit could create blowback that overwhelms any progress. Human intel may be difficult to obtain in Yemen, but some reporting has detailed over 3000 informants including some who aren’t aware the end user is the US. But draining the swamp can go a long way. The Obama admin appears to still be on a quest for shortcuts, easy fixes and stability through institutionalized injustice. Inexplicably, the US politically empowered religious hardliners and negated the impact of authentic democracy advocates and their quite logical and productive demands.

WSJ: The Obama administration has given the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. military greater leeway to target suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen with drones, responding to worries a new haven is being established from which to mount attacks on the West.

The policy shift, as described by senior U.S. officials, includes targeting fighters whose names aren’t known but who are deemed to be high-value terrorism targets or threats to the U.S. The White House stopped short of authorizing attacks on groups of lower-level foot soldiers who are battling the Yemeni government, the officials said.

Oddly ironic that Yemen has no law against jihad abroad, even murder, and now foreign al Qaeda are flooding to Yemen to “liberate” the people with their violent repressive supremacist ideology.

The National: The police station in Azzan has been turned into the regional headquarters of Ansar Al Sharia, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda, to coordinate attacks and expansion opportunities, said Abdullah Baotha, who escaped Azzab last fall, and current residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Residents are forced to comply with Sharia. Most music is forbidden in public areas, with only Islamic songs with voices and drums given as an alternative.

Shop owners are told to grow their beards the length of a fist. Women are not allowed to work and those who need to leave their homes must be covered in a burqa at all times. Curriculum in schools focuses mainly on Islamic law and Quranic preaching.

“Televisions or magazines are not allowed. We know nothing of what happens around us,” said Mr Baotha. “People are scared but cannot express their fear.” He said hundreds of residents succeeded in leaving the district, but thousands remain. (Read on …)

And theres a lot of video of the poor captured soldiers being held in Yahya Saleh’s warehouse and lectured by Abu Hamza.

Yemen Times: Dozens of soldiers are held inside the Al-Maz Company, owned by Yahya Saleh, nephew of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh (ed- and the US’s Counter Terror liaison). The soldiers were captured during armed confrontations in Dofas on March 4.

Sources close to Ansar Al-Sharia stated that no soldiers were wounded or killed during the recent (ed- US drone) raids.

The militants have demanded that 300 Al-Qaeda militants be released in return for the release of 72 captured soldiers.

With multiple news sites reporting the soldiers are on Yahya’s property, its likely true or was. Since the drones didn’t hit the warehouse, the US probably also knows it too. Collusion between al Qaeda and the top levels of the Saleh regime goes back decades and is undeniable.

The mystery is why the Obama administration is pushing, bullying and threatening the Yemeni opposition in order to keep Saleh’s relatives as heads of the CT units and in other military and security posts.

There were public protests Friday across Yemen chanting, “Restructure the army to stay faithful to the martyrs.” Air Force pilots have been protesting for weeks to replace Saleh’s corrupt brother as AF commander. The US ambassador told them to go back to work, repeatedly.

US Ambassador Feierstein also affirmed repeatedly that the Obama administration believes former dictator Ali Saleh has the right to remain in Yemen active in politics. Saleh was granted immunity for all his crimes as part of the US, UN transition plan. None of “his” assets have been frozen, although they are all ill gotten–stolen, embezzled or the result of black market smuggling.

US aid to Yemen was $326M since 2007. Yet the Yemeni military is still poorly trained and ill equipped as the recent AQ mutilation and slaughter of 150 soldiers demonstrates.

Meanwhile Saleh’s son and head of another CT unit, Ahmed Saleh, has a $5M condo in DC. That’s your taxpayer dollars right there people.

US officials highlight the very real and growing threat of AQAP. Yet contrary to national security concerns, the Obama admin is continuing its efforts to maintain and restore the Saleh regime, which has a long history of colluding with al Qaeda and diverting CT aid.

In 2007, an end use monitoring agreement was signed by the US and Yemen to prevent diversion of US CT funds and military equipment. A 2010 report by the Foreign Relations committee revealed many lapses in US monitoring, ie- missing equipment, US trained CT forces fighting the Houthis and not al Qaeda. The responsible US officials made few if any reforms as a result of the report, and the CT forces were involved in slaughtering hundreds of Yemeni protesters in 2011. What they apparently did was scrub the Military End Use Monitoring Agreement from Sana’a embassy’s website.

Yemen Post: An investigation commission found that the former commander of Southern Region Mahdi Maqwala was involved in supporting Al-Qaeda militants, an Emirate newspaper, Al-Bayan, has quoted Yemeni military sources as saying.

The sources told Al-Bayan on Sunday that Maqwala supported the militants with weapons and helped them to capture military positions in the southern governorate of Abyan….Yemeni politicians (ed- with formal statements) and analysts accused the ousted Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh of using Al-Qaeda to intimidate some Western countries with the aim of keeping his relatives in their military positions.

Governor of Abyan Saleh Al-Zawari has accused military and political services of surrendering Abyan to Al-Qaeda.

In remarks to a local Aden radio, the governor also revealed that tanks, cannons and other military equipments were surrendered to Al-Qaeda militants without any resistance, pointing out that those behaviors were clear evidence of the collusion of some military services with Al-Qaeda.

Clinton today:

CL: The second case I want to touch on today is Yemen. As Yemen unraveled into violence last year, the Security Council stood behind the efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Yemeni stakeholders to find a peaceful solution. In the face of setbacks, we held firm. Many challenges lie ahead. But last month’s successful presidential election and inauguration were promising steps on the path toward a new, democratic chapter in Yemen’s history. As Yemen continues its multi-year transition, reforms its constitution, convenes a national dialogue and continues to grapple with its security and humanitarian challenges, we must remain engaged and supportive.

NGO Resonate Yemen has issued their report on the 2012 presidential election in Yemen. It is available here at their website.

Update: As expected howls of dissent from southerners: the new leader is someone else, I hesitate to even write the name as bad things happen sometimes to emerging leaders, Nakhbi now is an Islah operative they say and there are no, repeat no, connections to Iran. But al Beidh has been talking about Iran for a long time, when he even bothers to talk at all, and I think its quite possible. For a run down on Aden TV and all Yemen private broadcasting, see this listing of who owns what at the Yemen Times.

Original: Bingo! I also do not agree with what is happening between al Beidh and Iran. The violence during the election boycott was an entirely new phenomenon which broke with the years long non-violence of the southern movement. As al Nakhbi says, it was likely due to Iranian influence through the al Beidh wing of the SM. Keep in mind Yemen Fox is affiliated with Ali Mohsen, who has his own motives for undermining the SM. But if this is an authentic interview, then that’s what it is.

While there’s noticeably a lot fewer al Beidh photos during the southern protests, its unclear the extent to which awareness of the alliance between al Beidh and Iran has filtered down to the street, although he himself has been threatening the west with Iran for years. General Nuba issued a warning to world about the danger of Iran’s growing influence in the south a few months ago. Many external former leaders are in favor of federalism as expressed at the Cairo conference. I think there’s a few more factions than the two broad ones described.

Al Nakhbi also remarks that the several corporation including the mega Yemeni Economic Military Corp remits its profits directly to Saleh. He notes elite support of al Qaeda and the symbiotic relationship between the including the recent massacre in Abyan. He concludes that Saleh must be excluded from politics. (Actually it necessary to fully depose the Saleh regime in order to integrate the Houthis as well as the southerners.) Its an interesting interview, worth a read:

Yemen Fox: Brigadier General Abdullah al-Nakhbi- Secretary-General of Southern Movement (SM) – said that many politicians believe that who stand behind recent terrorist attacks are remnants of the former regime and that Ali Abdullah Saleh has turned from president of republic to president of terrorism. Priorities of Yemenis whether in National Reconciliation Government or Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) in coordination with Gulf States and Europeans are to dismiss Ali Abdullah Saleh from practicing political action.

Nakhbi added in an interview with “Yemen Fox” that al-Qaeda is supported by Ali Abdullah Saleh, his aides and remnants of his regime, pointing out that supervisors of GCC Initiative should put pressure to implement the second term of the Initiative which is to restructure the army and Republican Guards within Ministry of Defense and Central Security within Ministry of Interior.

Interviewed with Hashem al-Toromah

Yemen Fox: How do you see Yemen after presidential elections?
Nakhbi: after presidential elections, we as Yemenis stand at change door. The new President Abdu Rabo Mansur Hadi should have a courage to start change process. Change process should first prevent Ali Abdullah Saleh from practicing politics because recent events took place after swearing oath starting from Mukalla continuing to Bayda and now in Abyan Province. Many politicians believe that who stand behind that are remnants of the former regime and that Ali Abdullah Saleh has turned from president of republic to president of terrorism. (Read on …)

If you are looking for al Qaeda hostages in Yemen, starting with the property owned by the head of the counter-terror unit is usually a good bet. That’s no joke, it should be standard procedure. There were airstrikes in vicinity of the al Maz warehouse in Jaar where the captured Yemeni soldiers are held by AQAP, Aden Tomorrow reports. How to bomb AQAP in Jaar without bombing the 55 hostages (or any residents) is beyond me but the central question. (Update 3/12: Yemen Times: “Dozens of soldiers are held inside the Al-Maz Company, owned by Yahya Saleh, nephew of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The soldiers were captured during armed confrontations in Dofas on March 4.” )

The remnants of the regime and al Qaeda are not beyond placing the hostage soldiers where they know the drones are going to strike, just to generate hostility toward the US and a longing for Ali Saleh. Yahya Saleh, in additional to being the head of several tourist boards, civil society organizations, and the Central Security forces and counter-terror unit, also has controlling interest in al MAZ corp, a huge corporation that deals in part with cotton and there’s questions as to whether al Maz has legal title to the cotton industry or just took it.

اقرأ المزيد من Aden tomorrow | News & Reports | URGENT: war planes bombed the vicinity of an abandoned warehouse includes prisoners from the Yemeni army Bdjaar

Mounted minutes before the planes now believed to be the work of Yemen bombing targeted the vicinity of an abandoned warehouse for cotton holding company which groups dozens of armed soldiers, the Yemeni army, “as prisoners.”

The reporter said “Aden tomorrow,” said city of Jaar aircraft carried out bombing of targeted neighborhoods surrounding the “Almaz company for cotton,” which is located beneath Mount Khanfar the city, adding that huge explosions rocked the company without being available to the moment information on casualties.

And detain armed groups within the company’s hangars one of dozens of soldiers and had threatened to kill them in case the authorities to respond unless the Yemeni government and release a number of its leaders detained in the prisons of the Yemeni government.

Related: Two suicide bombers prematurely detonate in Abyan, 20 & 21 years old, I’m sorry they got sucked in and brainwashed into being pawns in somebody else’s brutal game. Not all al Qaeda in Yemen are mercenaries paid by the National Security or rely on the symbiotic support from the intelligence and security like al Wahishi. Some are mercenaries as well as ideologues and some are just fanatics, but maybe the youngest ones can be pulled back with social support somehow before it is too late for them and Yemen alSahwa (ar)

thank God.

Nationwide measles campaign launched in Yemen

SANA’A, March 10 (Saba) – The Government of Yemen in collaboration with UNICEF, WHO, USAID, ICRC and other partners Saturday launched a nationwide measles campaign in Sana’a, targeting all children under the age of ten – an estimated eight million.

This campaign comes in the wake of an outbreak of the disease in the past few months, with over 3600 reported cases and 126 children under the age of five confirmed dead.

This situation is unacceptable,” says UNICEF Representative Geert Cappelaere. “Measles is a preventable disease and Yemen was close to being declared measles free in 2010 with zero deaths.”

The disease is spreading fast, reaching highly populated areas as well as areas with high levels of acute malnutrition. There is deep concern that many more deaths might occur, particularly among children, which makes today’s campaign even more urgent.

“Measles is a big killer of children” says WHO Representative Dr. Ghulam Popal. “Measles can be easily prevented by vaccination. The high rate of malnutrition and diarrhea among children would increase the fatality of measles. Therefore, it’s very important to implement the national campaign to prevent thousands of deaths among children.”

As a direct result of the 2011 conflict, immunization rates dropped dramatically, by up to 60% in some areas. This decrease in coverage risks exposing children to easily preventable diseases such as poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) and measles.

The US$9 million campaign (costing an estimatedUS$1.10 per child) will be conducted in phases with phase I planned for 10-15 March, targeting 1.5 million children in regions with the highest reported incidence. These are the conflict affected governorates of Abyan, Al-Baidha, Aden, Dhamar, Lahj, Shabwa and Saada. Phase 2, which will cover the rest of the country, will be launched at the end of March.

The following article I wrote in 2006 about a chickenpox outbreak in a rural village shows the devastating impact of that preventable diseases have in Yemen and some of the challenges that will be faced in the vaccination campaign:

A Village in Yemen: A Day in the Life of a Failing State

Jane Novak, Worldpress.org contributing editor, June 9, 2006

An outbreak of chickenpox in Yemen goes a long way in demonstrating the challenges of daily life for Yemeni citizens. The incident is also a snapshot of the factors that may lead Yemen toward state failure.

Barhan is a typical village in Yemen where most villages have no electricity, no sewage system, and no clean water. Nationally, one in 10 kids dies by age five; contaminated water contributes to half their deaths. Of the millions of kids not in school, the highest percentage is among rural girls.

Barhan has reported over 90 cases of chickenpox, including a number of severe cases. Generally, infants, adolescents, and adults are at higher risk to develop complications from chicken pox including pneumonia and encephalitis. If a pregnant woman contracts chickenpox, the fetus is at risk for birth defects. The highly contagious disease has spread to all households in Barhan, which has no doctor, and the village of 1,200 people is at risk of developing 85 percent infection. The village’s only road is under blockade by a neighboring village.

The Yemen Times, which recently won an International Press Institute Award for courageous reporting in an extremely hostile press environment, interviewed a member of the Health Ministry. The source did not want to be identified:

“We sent a message to the Epidemic Monitoring Department’s director general, which told us it’s a disease not subject to Health Ministry monitoring and that it’s not dangerous. We were told to contact Director General Dr. Abdulhakim Al-Kuhlani, who refused to talk to us, giving certain excuses.”

Barhan village has no doctor, no nurse, no midwife, and no hospital. Medical practitioners are scarce in the Yemeni countryside where 70 percent of the population resides. There is one doctor for every 600 people in the capital Sana’a, one doctor for every 12,000 people in Dhamar governorate, and one doctor for 90,000 people in Otma province. Yemen allocates just 1.3 percent of GDP to healthcare and over 7 percent to military spending. (The military and security forces are largely headed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s relatives and tribesmen.)

In addition to low funding levels, medical care is hampered by bureaucratic corruption and inefficiency. By failing to distribute medicines in 2005, the Medicine Fund allowed 60 million Yemeni rials in medicine to expire on its shelves. Smuggling accounts for about 40 percent of medicines in circulation. Even when legitimate medicine is available, it is hard to afford for most Yemenis when nearly half the country lives on less than two dollars a day and many more live close to this level.

In response to the outbreak in Barhan, the Ministry of Health sent a doctor to the village for one day and released a statement that the outbreak was contained. The villagers were promised medicine and doctors. They are still waiting as the virus spreads.

The only road from Barhan is under blockade by a hostile neighboring village. Tribalism is growing in Yemen and the blockade arose as revenge. The freedom to travel is restricted for a fair portion of rural citizens due to tribal hostilities that often erupt in shootouts and deaths. One Barhan resident said, “We are living two tragedies: one involves the blockade and the other involves the epidemic.” Living in fear of an attack by the neighboring village, residents are unable to transport their sick relatives to a hospital. Barhan is only 40 kilometers west of the nation’s capital city of Sana’a.

Barhan has received no help in securing the road from the military or security forces, recipients of about 40 percent of Yemen’s budget. Tribal disputes, arising in the absence of an impartial judiciary, are normally left to fester by the regime. The Yemeni government sometimes gets involved by taking hostages in order to pressure one of the parties involved. A 2004 parliamentary report noted scores of persons listed on prison documents as “hostages.” This regime policy can backfire: several times last year tribesmen kidnapped foreigners to pressure the regime to release or bring to trial detained relatives, including one 12 year old.

One distraught parent in Barhan told The Yemen Times, “We’ve sought the help of the Health Ministry, the capital secretariat, the local council and all concerned parties, but they’ve done nothing to protect our children from this horrific disease.”

Local councils set up in 2001 were supposed to enhance democratic participation in Yemen, but somebody forgot to tell the councils and the regime, because the local councils do not work — literally. The local councils have little training, structure, authority or coordination with central authorities. Executive council meetings are poorly attended. A Barhan resident explained:

“They’ve done nothing ever since we elected them to be our representatives, to adopt our concerns and issues and solve them in coordination with Sana’a authorities. They’ve disappointed us.”

Other “democratic” institutions in Yemen are equally disappointing. Parliament is dominated by the General People’s Congress Party (G.P.C.), which is headed by President Saleh. Parliament does little beyond shuffle oil revenue in mysterious ways. M.P.’s who try to advance the interests of the public are called traitors. The minority opposition parties hotly criticize the authoritarianism of the regime but are undemocratic in structure and practice themselves. There is an election coming in September for both the presidency and the local councils. With voter registration processes in the hands of G.P.C. loyalists, so far there is about a million questionable voter registrations, according to one opposition tally about 11 percent of the rolls. Yemen is on the road to becoming a one party state, and an ineffectual one at that.

In a region filled with dictatorships, the one in Yemen is particularly incompetent and distinctly corrupt with a good portion of public funds stolen, borrowed, embezzled, paid as bribes, or otherwise misappropriated. The chicken pox vaccine is 95 percent effective in preventing a moderate or severe case of chicken pox. Other remedies are available for people who have already been exposed, including infants, to reduce the risk of a severe case. Yet at the top of Yemen’s shopping list are helicopters, Mig-29 fighter planes, and armored personnel carriers.

In the run up to the election, President Saleh has taken a road trip around the nation, laying cornerstones and making promises. In the little village of Barhan, 1,200 people remain blockaded with no doctor and a rampant infectious disease. They have no government. There are 129,229 villages and districts in the Yemeni countryside. The lack of basic services, security, and democratic institutions affects them all.

Jane Novak is an American journalist and political analyst.

There were a lot of articles on the anti-Mohsen protest on Saleh regimists funded “independent” websites, but I finally found it on what looks to be a non-aligned site. Continuing and growing momentum in the protests against corrupt military leaders and other top corrupt officials (known jointly as the institutional revolution) is a good development. Ali Mohsen’s history and connection to extremists is just as bad as the Saleh boys and nephews. The protesters also demanded that Ali Mohsen release all the prisoners he’s holding without any basis. The hegemony of Islahis, because of their funding and muscle, in the square derailed the drive toward a civil state and divided the protesters.

Mersad: Observatory – rebounds: Protest this morning outside the house of the President Hadi Street, sixty in the capital Sanaa, thousands of officers described the soldiers of the north-west and the First Armored Division, demanding dismissal and the trial of General Almends Mohsen al-Ahmar commander of the First Armored Division – revolutionary youth popular- as a result of crimes committed against them and the rights of the people of Yemen. (Read on …)

Sounds bad, kind of a vehicular Mumbai style swarm. There’s no way the US embassy doesn’t know this already though right? The article was published last night at 9pm. Also note there’s sources and there’s security sources. This is but one reason why freedom of the press is so important in Yemen–open source AQAP reporting. There’s history and links to news articles on Ibrahim al Banaa below.

Related: Yes they are apparently all over it. US drones strikes kill 25 in Yemen overnight:

US drones raided several hideouts of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda wing in the southeast restive province of Al-Baydha on Friday night. At least 25 AQAP militants were killed, including senior figures, with several other militants being wounded in an air strike conducted by the United States forces according to local website news…Moreover recent news that al-Shaba’a, the Ethiopian al-Qaeda wing had sent hundreds of Jihadists over to Abyan to join in Ansar al-Sharia, has been the cause of great concerns for both the government and the civilian population, as they feel their land could become the ground of a mighty war.

Ethiopians? al Shaba’a? 1) Maybe these are the nine mystery ships that everyone is talking about arriving before last Sunday’s attack on the military base in Abyan that killed nearly 200 Yemeni soldiers and 2) How weak is AQAP that they need to import fighters?

There’s also reports of drone strikes in Jaar, Abyan that destroyed the military equipment AQAP captured from the army last week-end. Update: The al Baydah airstrikes hit the AQAP training camp and targeted local al-Qaeda leader Abdulwahhab al-Homaiqani, the BBC reports. Its always good when there are no immediate reports of civilian casualties, I would have heard by now.

The Yemeni soldiers captured (who weren’t beheaded or otherwise mutilated) were paraded around Jaar, forced to train the terrorists on how to operate the tanks, and now are threatened with execution if the govt doesn’t release AQ prisoners.

The YO article regarding reports of an impending attack follows: Yemen Observer:

Yemen based al-Qaeda plans strikes on Sana’a and Mukala Reliable sources have said that al-Qaeda has been preparing for its largest operations yet in the capital city of Sana’a, operations aimed at strategic sites including military and security installments and embassies.

Sources said that al-Qaeda cells in the areas of Zindan and Arhab have trained for operations involving the storming of fortified sites, attacking fixed and mobile targets while aboard vehicles and motorbikes, and that al-Qaeda militants have entered Sana’a in preparation for carrying out their attacks in the coming few days.

The sources expect that al-Qaeda’s potential targets include the Airbase in Sana’a, the Interior Ministry, Republican Guard units and a number of embassies, including the American embassy.

The sources confirmed information regarding intentions by al-Qaeda to attack Mukala to divert attention its plans in Sana’a.

Security sources said that over 400 al-Qaeda militants are currently in Shabwa’s Azan Directorate, with three al-Qaeda leaders in charge (Ibrahim al-Bana, an Egyptian, Qasem al-Rimi and Shaker Hamel) of plans to attack vital installations, security sites, and important government facilities as part of a plan to expand their so-called Azan Islamic state to Mukala. (Read on …)

Update: As we all learn together to be more sensitive, my Yemeni friends reminded me the word Akhdam itself is disparaging term, meaning slave I think, so this is why the PR is calling them the marginalized. Black racial minority is also acceptable. Maybe African-Yemenis. Update: A new article also discusses the marginalization and segregation of black Yemenis in Aden.

Sawa’a Organization launched its open line for monitoring violations against marginalized people

Sawa’a Organization for Minorities’ Rights Defense and Anti-Discrimination is concerned about the escalation of violence against marginalized people in Taiz.

Sawa’a organization for minorities’ rights defense and anti-discrimination is watching with extreme concern the escalation of violence against the marginalized people in Taiz city which resulted in the fall of two killed people recently.

The organization monitored ,during the last week, the kill of a cleaner at the age of 22 years and another in his 7th decade was working as a guard in a land which was a place of dispute.

Sawa’a Organization for minorities’ rights defense and anti-discrimination says that the Interior ministry bears the full responsibility for what happened,and demands it to adjust the perpetrators and bring them to justice as soon as possible, and confirms that it monitored a slowdown by the security agencies in the prosecution of those accused of committing the crime of murder despite they know them.

The organization calls the security authorities in Taiz city to allow the marginalized people to express their views and opinions and not to resist their protests and protect them form any further attacks.

In this context, Sawa’a Organization launches its open line for monitoring violations to which the marginalized people are exposed and they are 01565182-711199279-77080744

e-mail: sawaa.org@gmail.com

Sawa’a Org. for Minorities’ Rights Defense and Anti-Discrimination – Sana’a

دشنت الخط المفتوح لرصد انتهاكات المهمشين..

منظمة سواء للدفاع عن الأقليات قلقة من تصاعد العنف ضد المهمشين في تعز

تتابع منظمة سواء للدفاع عن حقوق الأقليات ومناهضة التمييز بقلق بالغ تصاعد عمليات العنف ضد فئة المهمشين بمدينة تعز والتي أسفرت عن مقتل اثنين مؤخرا.

ورصدت المنظمة خلال الأسبوع الماضي مقتل عامل نظافة يبلغ من العمر 22 عاما، والآخر مسن في العقد السابع من عمره كان يعمل حارسا في أرضية محل خلاف.

وتحمل منظمة سواء للدفاع عن حقوق الأقليات ومناهضة التمييز وزارة الداخلية المسئولية الكاملة، عن ضبط الجناة وتقديمهم للعدالة وتصاعد الإعتداءات على المهمشين، وتؤكد أنها رصدت تباطؤا من قبل الأجهزة الأمنية في ملاحقة المتهمين بارتكاب جرائم القتل رغم معرفتها بهم.

وتدعو المنظمة السلطات الأمنية بمدينة تعز إلى السماح للمهمشين بالتعبير عن آرائهم، وعدم التعرض لاحتجاجاتهم المطلبية المحقة، وحمايتها من أية اعتداءات أخرى.

وفي هذا السياق تدشن منظمة سواء الخط المفتوح لرصد الانتهاكات التي تتعرض لها فئة المهمشين وهو 01565182 770807446- 711199279 ، بريد إلكتروني sawaa.org@gmail.com

صنعاء – منظمة سواء للدفاع عن حقوق الأقليات ومناهضة التمييز

Yemen Post: Yemen’s interior Ministry has disclosed on Wednesday that Al-Qaeda has a “terrorist” plan to attack Al-Mukallh of Hadhramout governorate with the aim of declaring it as an Islamic Emirate.

In its website, it said that 300 of Al-Qaeda operatives including three leaders, Ibraheem Al-Bana’a, Egyptian Nationa, Qasim Al-Raimi, and Shaker Hamel were planning to attack strategic government facilities, military and security camps.

This Ibrahim al Banna? ( http://armiesofliberation.com/?s=ibrahim+al+banna) The undead, previously arrested, tried & convicted somehow free again long time al Qaeda operative? You can just keep clicking the links and trackbacks from post to post. I’m too tired. Supposedly Ibrahim the Egyptian was arrested in Hadramout in 2008 (after the lethal January ambush of a Belgium tourist convoy in Shibam), tried in 2010, and killed in 2011, but then he wasn’t dead after all and it turned out that many of the 21 charged with the terrorist murder of the two elderly female tourists and two Yemeni guides were convicted in absentia.

Qasim al Reimi is also among the repeatedly undead; declared as killed by the Yemeni government at least three separate times although he remains very much alive. Shaker Hamel was arrested and tried with al Banna and apparently is still hanging out with him. Cozy.

(My Ibrahim al Banna search also returned Jaber Elbaneh results but that’s the Lackawanna NYer/al Farouk grad who we haven’t heard from lately. His is another bizarre story that would almost be funny except he’s al Qaeda.)

The following article is in part a sociological sketch, with interviews and observations of the al Qaeda occupation of Jaar. One interesting point is that among the first tier of leaders are many bitter ex-prisoners of the political security organization. One was tortured and forced to eat from the toileting bowl; his crime was attempting to go to Iraq to fight US forces there. “He added: «I thought the Jews and the Christians were the only ones who should have jihad against them (but) if our fellow Yemenis are cursing God and apply electricity for trivial reasons». He is currently living the best days of his life in Abyan with his brothers «Mujahideen»”

There’s also a reasonable profile of new publicity hound and Prince Abu Hamza, and his depiction of AQAP’s provision of social services, basic needs and “justice.” So far they executed eight Saudis accused of spying, three people have had their hands chopped off. The authors note the Al Qaeda “court” considers defense lawyers irrelevant. Tobacco, qat, alcohol and all smoking is prohibited. “The “popular satisfaction left by those acts and policies (ed- bountiful gas, water and electricity) of some residents of Jaar are offset by resentment at the vast majority of the population of those areas.” They consider Khalidabdul Nabi a Saleh operative, and fought his operatives before gaining control.

The original article is is here and the GT is below. Following that is a GT’d research paper by the Aden Research Center about al Qaeda, then an AP article on the AQAP statement of responsibility, a YT round-up of the Dofus attack and a random southern comment on the whole scenario. (Read on …)

Speaking of inventorying the Yemeni military, in June 2008, the US and Yemen signed an end use monitoring agreement on military hardware which the US embassy said, will allow for the verification of articles and services provided to Yemen under U.S.-sponsored military and security assistance, thus preventing the misuse or illicit transfer of these items and services.

So who’s going to take the fall for the failure to monitor millions in US CT aid to Yemen? Or for their use against civilians, including the 2011 youth protesters and thousands in the South and Saada before the protests began, over the last four years? Saleh’s immunity doesn’t extend to US officials.

Hey, lets just change the website and pretend it didn’t happen! Seriously, though, this is the link to the announcement that was available in June 2008 on the US Embassy’s website, http://yemen.usembassy.gov/euma.html. Unfortunately the link is dead.

Being the optimistic, patriotic person I am, I searched the US embassy’s website with my mad google skilz, assuming it was just re-indexed but no, there is no reference to the 2008 End Use Monitoring Agreement by date or keywords. There’s other older announcements and documents including the Financial Systems Assessment Team (FSAT) report from 2007.

It doesnt even come up in a search on the text. I would love to stand corrected on this; somebody show me where it is on the site because otherwise its just stupid. (The Obama White House website has deleted or revised items that became politically uncomfortable, but really now.)

But much more importantly, back to my original question, who in the USG was responsible for end use monitoring for the last four years anyway, or more correctly who was derelict or knowingly passive, the only two options, as millions in US tax payer money was used against Saleh’s political enemies (and thousands of civilians) as Al Qaeda got stronger?

Saleh’s diversion of US granted aid and US trained counter-terror units was well known and openly discussed, as demonstrated by Wikileaks. More importantly, a Congressional fact finding survey entitled FOLLOWING THE MONEY IN YEMEN AND LEBANON: MAXIMIZING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF U.S. SECURITY ASSISTANCE AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION LENDING, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE dated Jan 5, 2010 clearly documents diversion of US military aid. There was either collusion or cluelessness in the US Embassy and State Department.

The Foreign Relations Committee’s report expresses uncertainty that US Embassy personnel fully understood what the end use agreement required, and that diversion was prohibited.

This is a link to the 2011 US Congressional Service report on US mil aid to Yemen and a small part of the overall report:

1206 Defense Department Assistance
In recent years, the Defense Department’s 1206 train and equip fund has become the major source of overt U.S. military aid to Yemen. Section 1206 Authority is a Department of Defense account designed to provide equipment, supplies, or training to foreign national military forces engaged in counter terrorist operations. Between FY2006 and FY2007, Yemen received approximately $30.3million in 1206 funding. In the last two fiscal years, it has received $221.8 million. As of mid-FY2010, Yemen is the largest global 1206 recipient, receiving $252.6 million. Pakistan is the second-largest recipient with $203.4 million.

This is only one section of total US military aid to Yemen. And as part of the transitional government’s military restructuring, they are going to take an inventory. I hope the Foreign Relations Committee issues a follow on report to determine if any reforms on the US side were instituted as a result of the 2010 report.

Its too bad no body is seizing assets as this guy likely has uber bucks abroad. The National Petroleum Company is only a year old; it used to be the state owned Safer Oil Co. which was abruptly dissolved last March as protests spread, likely to give the books a new start and hide evidence of mass smuggling, embezzlement. ( Safer took over Block 18 , the big one, in 2005 after Yemen failed to renew the long standing license for Hunt Oil.)

Although books begin in 2011, corrupt institutional practices (like beating employees) remained. The reason for the institutional revolution is not only the upper management withholding (stealing) workers salaries but quite frequently beating and imprisoning employees. Most ministries have “private prisons” including the Endowments Ministry.

Yemen also needs good labor unions but with hyper-politicization, corrupt Sanaa regime loyalists are management, and the state often “cloned” the workers unions with a regime created look-alike.

Yemen Post Director of the Yemeni Petroleum Company Omar Al-Arhabi has resigned following a wave of protests organized by the company’s employees.

They accused Al-Arhabi of standing behind assaults against some of the employees who headed to the cabinet demanding the resignation of Al-Arhabi. (Read on …)

In a speech this week, the US Attorney General Eric Holder laid out the Obama administration’s legal criteria for drone use and in particular for assassinating American al Qaeda members abroad. The criteria is summarized below by the Lawfare blog. More importantly than the targeting of Anwar Awlaki and Samir Khan for me, and for the residents of Abyan, Marib, Shabwa, etc., AG Holder reaffirmed the Obama administration’s firm commitment to act within the “international rules of war.”

With the recent uptick in AQAP activity and growing territorial occupation, people too poor to flee al Qaeda are terrified of both AQ and drone attacks. Hopefully this statement by AG Holder represents a real and ongoing commitment by the Obama administration to the principle of civilian immunity and US respect for the value of Yemeni lives.

AQAP does not follow the rules of war, and uses human shields, sheltering in civilian populated areas. The US has been targeting vehicle convoys, not towns. The shelling in Zinibar was from the Yemeni military, not US drones.

After grave US errors like al Mahfad (and the utterly shameful US statement that nearby Bedouins and their children were guilty of material support for selling vegetables, although the villagers had appealed to local authorities to expel the terrorists) and Saleh’s murder of his political enemy Sheik al Shabwani via US drone, visible US drones make parents very concerned. At the same time, the drones have been visible in Marib and many other locations since 2010, and I would think they are collecting surveillance photos.

I think/hope/pray the US understands that these are unwillingly occupied towns, that intel from the Saleh family is entirely unreliable, the CT units have been partially subverted by AQ and that in all cases, children under 14 cannot be terrorists.

The attitude of Yemenis is that al Qaeda should be captured, given a fair trial and imprisoned if there is actual evidence of crimes. They do not oppose counter-terror operations per se but summary execution without trial, just like many Americans who raised objections over Awlaki and Khan.

Boston Herald: Speaking at Northwestern University law school, Holder gave the most complete explanation to date of the Obama administration’s legal rationale for killing people like U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki, who was targeted in an airstrike in Yemen last year.

Such killings can be ordered “in full accordance with the Constitution” but require “at least” an imminent threat in a situation where capture is not feasible, and when the strike is “conducted in a manner consistent” with the rules of war, Holder said.

The lawfare summary brings up another issue though, “a senior operational role,” which presupposes that the US knows who it is droning. While the criteria Holder outlined is for deliberate targeting of US citizens, it would be nice to think that the US has some clue as to the names of its Yemeni targets and doesn’t just look for random gatherings of bearded men. In Yemen, the most accurate fatality listing of US drone strikes comes from al Qaeda itself, and the Yemeni government announced Qasim al Reimi was dead four times.

While I imagine there are vast challenges to intelligence gathering on AQAP, it is this imprecision that can lead to collateral damage or more accurately, dead children. I still haven’t gotten over the photos of the crucifixion of the “spies,” but logically a modicum of respect for southerners as southerners in general would go a long way. The language of SD spox Victoria Nuland’s Press Briefing 3/5/12 blew southerners minds, and she probably had no clue how very poorly and furiously it would be received.

via Lawfare’s summary: That is, the speech asserts that Due Process permits targeting of a citizen at least when the target is:

(i) located abroad rather than in the United States,

(ii) has a senior operational role

(iii) with al Qaeda or an al Qaeda-associated force,

(iv) is involved in plotting focused on the death of Americans in particular,

(v) that threat is “imminent” in the sense that this is the last clear window of opportunity to strike,

(vi) there is no feasible option for capture without undue risk, and

(vii) the strike will comply with the IHL principles of necessity, distinction, proportionality, and humanity.

What is the acceptable metric of civilian causality per each suspected al Qaeda targeted? Much, much lower than Afghanistan I hope. Its a very volatile situation.

In order to restructure the military, the transitional govt needs to know what exists and where; a US congressional report in 2009ish found that the Yemeni CT forces and military could not account for or locate some equipment granted as US military assistance. Furthermore, direct and brokered Yemeni arms purchases are sometimes sold in bulk to the black market, and individual soldiers (who sometimes aren’t paid for months) have been known to sell their weapons.

In reality, all ministries and government offices should be subject to an inventory (including cars). However, considering the gargantuan levels of corruption and mismanagement at all levels, a secondary audit is imperative. Asking the people responsible for the embezzlement to count the inventory is a recipe for more subterfuge.

A secondary audit of the inventory would be a good job for the revolutionaries, many of whom have accounting and computer degrees. As outsiders they would be independent, and its a good method to enfranchise them in the transition process while generating trust through transparency. International assistance by experienced accountants of the process may also increase the Yemeni auditors skill levels and employ-ability. Of course the US will be embarrassed by how much of its intended CT aid was stolen, diverted and/or resold, but sunlight is good for everybody.

Its very important however to standardized the inventory process regionally and from ministry to ministry–from the beginning. Starting with compatible processes, methods, computer systems and software is essential. For example, Yemen’s years long difficulty in generating stats and paperwork on the Somali refugees arises in large part from technical obstacles generated by using different accounting methods, incompatible databases and different computer systems, both vertically and horizontally. This impending pitfall is easily overcome with a little forethought at this point.

al Sahwa, President directs to count properties of military

Alsahwah.net- Yemen President Abdu-Rabo Mansour Hadi has directed on Wednesday the Defense Ministry to form technical committees to count the properties of the army in a move that precede the reconstruction of the military and end the division.

Meanwhile, the government tasked the Oil and Mineral Minister, Hisham Sharaf, to appoint a new director-general of the Oil Petroleum Company after the resignation of the former director in response to waves of protests by the employees of the company.

According to the Yemeni News Agency, Saba, military commanders held on Wednesday a meeting presided by the Defense Minister Ahmed Nasser Ahmed. The meeting discussed the counting of the military’s properties and how to halt the squandering of the public resources.

Also see “Fixing Broken Windows”: Security Sector Reform in Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen Carnegie 2009

This is a very interesting report in that it breaks down demands and concerns regionally, notes the differences among the various squares, makes distinctions among the four boycotting groups, and tallies of where the voting was not accomplished. Its telling that Mahfad, Abyan complained about the lack of ballot boxes. The strength of the democracy narrative shouldn’t be underestimated in Yemen, its been at the core of nearly all political rhetoric since 1990, The Abaad center is within the Islah sector of the political spectrum. Nearly all media in Yemen skews one way or another, the trick is understanding repetitive bias within otherwise independent reporting.

Abaad report: Four violence groups worked to halt elections

al Sahwa

The report that depended on a survey carried out by a team of the square youth camped in front of Sana’a University pointed out that reconstruction of the military, the southern case , the violence groups including the Houghi group , the armed southern movement, Al-Qaeda and remnants of the former president, Ali Abdullsh Saleh, pose challenges for Hadi in the transition stage.

“Armed manifestations widespread in some cities and towns, violence acts, chaos provoked by some groups with support of some leaders loyal to the former regime as well as insecurity were among challenges ” the report added.

“The legacy of the former regime of corruption, looting of public resources, deterioration of economy and living standards, wars , revenge and sectarian bids, and killing of protesters and civilians were mentioned as challenges” the survey cited. “The challenged could be overcome if Hadi becomes able to take firm actions.”

Youth’s demands of the new president

According to the reprot, the demands expected by the new president differentiate from a province to another on base of needs and conditions of people. (Read on …)

Hows that going to work? Clearly the Yemeni forces are not up to the challenge without support considering yesterday’s bloodbath. But how to offset the AQAP subversion, root out the corrupt and purge the murderers while training is ongoing, (it didn’t work so well in the past), al Qaeda is attacking and restructure the Yemeni military simultaneously. Southerners, Houthis and other excluded groups have to be integrated into the new military for balance. Meanwhile its been AQAP’s goal to draw in US military forces.

US officials’ statements alienating southerners en masse (al Qaeda’s unwilling captive and nearby communities) isn’t helping overall efforts.

US and Yemeni officials have agreed to restart a controversial military-training program to help the new president tackle Al Qaeda militants as part of planned enhanced counter-terrorism relationship.

While President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has openly turned to Washington as he attempts to get the upper hand over the terrorist group, his policy may have a key drawback — upsetting the delicate political balance of power in the country and complicating the sensitive task of overhauling the nation’s fractured security forces.

Dozens of US special operations forces already on the ground are set to resume training of counterterrorism forces after a lull last year amid a wave of new sophisticated assaults by the Yemeni branch of the terrorist group and loosely linked jihadi groups. FOX