Armies of Liberation

It would be nice if they called for justice and an end to the theft of public money, but likely they will fatwa the reformers and democrats. The premise that it is un-Islamic to oppose a Muslim leader is very convenient if you are a Muslim leader. Saleh is seeking legitimacy from government clerics and scholars because he has lost it constitutionally and among public opinion. Its not a way to create consensus but to avoid the need for it. Its long been an al Qaeda demand as well.

Presidential decree to establish Islamic scholarly committee

SANA’A, Sep. 30 (Saba)- A Presidential decree No. 16 for 2010 was issued on Thursday stipulating the establishment of Islamic Scholars Committee tasked with providing consultation and advice. The Committee will mainly target the government so as to ensure the national interest according to the Islamic Sharea.

al Tagheer (Read on …)

Update: Regime blames General Nassir al Nuba, after he refused a wedding invitation… Otay. So the al Qaeda spree is over or never was and now its the southerners who are making the attacks? Tomorrow it will be al Qaeda again.

The Interior Ministry said that the Yemeni military campaign of twenty armed men surrounded the shipsets elements of al Qaeda in Icbm Shabwa province (south-east Yemen) against the background of the attack, which targeted the convoy of governor of the province on Wednesday ..

According to the information center security that among the items that targeted the convoy of the governor, Brigadier Nasser Al-Nuba and Ahmed Atef, and that they were among the who fired on a convoy of cars carrying the governor of the province Shabwah and Major General Mohammed Salem Cotton Deputy Reese of Staff for Manpower and a number of military figures and government in the province, which led to the martyrdom of one of the soldiers and wounding 8 others injured in different .. (Read on …)

I was hoping it was just a minor delay but apparently not.

نقابة الصحفيين تستنكر عدم الافراج عن الرسام كمال شرف Syndicate of Journalists condemns the non-release of the painter Kamal Sharaf
الأحد 26 سبتمبر-أيلول 2010 الساعة 11 مساءً / مأرب برس – خاص Sunday, September 26 – September 2010 at 11 pm / Marib Press – special (Read on …)

Update: Houthis issue a statement that seems to indicate that the prior al Qaeda statement demanding Hussain al Tais’s release is bogus and a pretext to begin bombing markets under the guise of counter-terror. And while the Houthis do have quite a conspiratorial view of al Qaeda, the interesting thing about the several questionable al Qaeda attacks over the years, which were claimed in internet statements by al Qaeda, is that if they are false flag attacks, the “real” al Qaeda never disputed that the statements of responsibility. Original Arabic below but my formatting is messed up.

Subject: Houthi: prosecution of al-Qaeda “flimsy excuses”
‫ in a statement issued by the office of Abdul-Malik al-leader of the movement Alhotheip North Yemen, he said that in response to al Qaeda statement and explanation of events and facts were stated, “to the awareness and vision of society in general, shatter all the plots that target directly in order to stir up sectarian strife, sectarian and tarnish the image of the nation which adhered to approach the Holy Quran and the household of prophecy ”

He touched on the statement arrived in the crowd Net to the hijacking of the Deputy Director of Political Security in Ramadan, “In the month of Ramadan have been kidnapped, deputy director of political security of the central governorate of Saada hot Officers On Monday, 9/20/2010 issued a so-called al Qaeda in the island Arabs adopted a statement which the process of abduction, deputy director of political security that have occurred in the 08/26/2010 statement comes after the adoption process (24) days of the kidnapping incident .. ”

The statement added: “Here, put a lot of question marks that confirm that all the incidents that take place in the northern provinces aimed at opening the door of the bombings and killing people in mosques and markets of those flimsy arguments (the so-called pursuit of al-Qaeda members) …. (Read on …)

Resisting all snarky comments, Yemen Post

The United Kingdom has appointed a new ambassador to Yemen to succeed the current envoy Tim Torlot who would be transferred to another appointment, the UK embassy in Sana’a reported on Wednesday.

Jonathan Wilks, 52, will start his new position in October. Wilks is a specialist in the Middle East and North Africa affairs. He has held posts in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

This month, Gerald M. Feierstein delivered his credentials as the new U.S. ambassador to Yemen. Prior to his appointment, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Islamabad, Pakistan.

ي بيان مشترك للرئيسين علي ناصر والعطاس: القاعدة صنيعة السلطة ونطالب بلجنة دولية لتقصى الحقائق في شبوة In a joint statement of Presidents Nasser and Ali Alatas: Al-Qaida is backed by the Authority and the Commission call for an international fact-finding in Shibuya al Tagheer

Ali Nasser Muhammad, Haidar Abu Bakr Al-Attas and ministers Mohammed Ali Ahmed and Saleh Obaid Ahmed, in a joint statement today what was done by Yemeni security forces in the town of Al بمحافظة شبوة , وحملة الاعتقالات الواسعة لقيادات ونشطاء Shabwa, and the campaign of mass arrests of leaders and activists الحراك السلمي في محافظتى عدن ولحج. Peaceful movement in the provinces of Aden and the pilgrimage…متهما السلطة بانها:”تفرخ وتدرب عناصر مفترضة للقاعدة وترسلها للجنوب لخلق الذريعة لنفسها ، مستغفلة الرأي العام المحلى Authority, accusing it: “spawn and trained elements of suspected Al-Qaeda and sent to the South to create pretext for itself, Mstgvlp domestic public opinion والاقليمى والدولى، لضرب الحراك الجنوبى السلمى “. حد تعبر البيان . And regional and international, to hit the southern movement’s peaceful. “Fairly reflect the statement.

Yemen uses the al Qaeda threat as a instrument of foreign and domestic policy. The banner referenced below was hoisted in the south to demonstrate that southerners reject al Qaeda. Meanwhile, a Yemeni official says counter-terror fight a political, seasonal activity, CNN

Yemenis marched this week, hoisting a banner which read: “We condemn terrorism in all its forms all over the world.”
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* NEW: A senior government official claims Yemen is exaggerating its campaign
* NEW: He says it’s a ploy to get more foreign aid for Yemen
* Yemen says its forces succeeded in driving out al Qaeda in Hatwa
* Defense official tells CNN that U.S. has assisted in the offensive

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) — Yemeni security forces have driven out al Qaeda elements who infiltrated the town of Hawta in southern Shabwa province, the state-run news agency reported. (Read on …)

It is an indication of the strength of Saleh’s extremist supporters that moderate books are excluded from a book fair, the point of which in theory is to bring new literature to the nation. Yemen Observer

A group of Yemeni intellectuals, writers, and thinkers are boycotting the 27th session of the Sana’a Book Fair, according to a release statement sent to Yemen Observer by the group.

The group said the Ministry of Culture, who is organizing the Book Fair, did not allow fiction works of Yemeni and Arabs to enter and be viewed in the Book Fair, well-known publishing houses were also absent, which “reflected on the credibility of the body that organizes the fair.”

Another objection the group noted was the oriented-takfir books which call for extremism and terrorism. (Read on …)