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 …)

The government of Yemen has a knee jerk reaction to any news outlet that the publishes unflattering news, attacking the journalist instead of correcting their policies. The political repression is the worst in 20 years.

Update: the state says the report is filled with lies from people who hate Yemen. See 26 September:”It has become clear that this report has based on information collected by a person named Mohammed Abdul-Dayem, who came to Yemen and met with many opponents and malevolent elements.” Yemen Nation: He pointed out that there is today in Yemen more than 160 printed press and dozens of media sites and blogs with a great deal of democracy and the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression and criticism, which sometimes exceeded all limits, as evidenced by all.

In Yemen, brutal repression cloaked in law:

In the past two years, the Yemeni government has taken legislative and administrative steps to further restrict free expression. Coupled with longstanding tactics of violent repression, President’s Saleh administration is creating the worst press climate in two decades. A CPJ Special Report by Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Published September 29, 2010 (Read on …)

Everything the Yemeni government is a lie to some degree or another, so who knows where the shred of truth is in this story.

Zawya/AFP: Yemen’s foreign minister acknowledged the United States has launched attacks on Al-Qaeda in his country in an interview published on Thursday, the first confirmation from Sanaa of a US military role. (They’ve been denying it since December.) (Read on …)

General Nasser al Nuba is the head of the southern military retired organization which began the southern protests in 2007. As the movement grew, General Nuba became chairman of the Supreme National Committee for the Liberation of the South. The following is a google translation of the original Arabic statement of the SNC posted below which states information indicates the Saleh regime’s next tactic will claim there is a dangerous al Qaeda cell near General Nuba’s camp and bomb the heck out of it. There were previous attempts on Gen. Nuba’s life including a car bomb meters away from the headquarters.

Statement issued by the Supreme National Commission for the independence of the South
(Read on …)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

بيان صادر عن الهيئة الوطنية العليا لاستقلا الجنوب

تفيد الانبأ إن نظام الاحتلال المتمثل في نظام صنعا يعد العدة للقيام

بقصف أماكن التي يتواجد فيها العميد الركن ناصر علي نوبة رئيس الهيئة

(Read on …)

Khalidabdul Nabi denies the reports published that he entered into another deal with the Saleh regime to calm the situation in Abyan before the Gulf 20 games. He says his band is not behind the attacks on the Political Security officers in Abyan. The perpetrators are likely tribal, partisan or the state, he says, but he’s not sure which. The name of his group, the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, is from the Koran and no one should take offense.

A better translation of the last part thanks to Jassim Mohammed, and yes, they are all intelligence officers: “Over the years, sharp differences emerged between him and the intelligence services in the province and shows those differences and reaffirmed the continuation of these differences because of the state « The state took his money and overturned all agreement of promises with him». Its good to mention that abd Al- Nabi and big numbers who had been in Afghanstan are now officers in Intelligence and currently occupy high positions and as managers have been deployed in the provinces of Lehej and Abyan.”

aha, Asharq al Awasat

Sanaa, Asharq Al-Awsat- Sheikh Khalid Abdul-Nabi, A prominent Yemeni jihadist leader and head of the banned Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, has denied any connection to the assassinations that have been taking place for the last three months in Abyan Governorate, in southern Yemen, which has targeted officers of the Political Security Agency (intelligence) and other security men.

In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdul-Nabi said that these assassinations are “illogical” and that he does not specifically know the party or parties behind them. He added that these assassinations were “probably tribal or partisan vendetta. I do not know whether the Southern Mobility Movement [SMM] or the state was behind these assassinations.” (Read on …)

We need to know which intel agency they were working for, and which division of the royal family, in order to understand the dynamics of this. Its really pathetic though that these fanatics are going around assualting people at will. The tactic follows that of the assault on the Belgian tourists in 2007, when they just opened fire on the car at a speed bump.

Update: ah, its the Political Security. It appears there is some kind of dispute going on between some section of AQAP and al Qamish, head of the political security. However, the good relations between AQAP and other factions within the Saleh government, for example the military and Ali Mohsen al Ahmar, continues unabated. At the same time, this state which has no qualms about the wholesale slaughter of its citizens presumably little hesitation in sacrificing a few low level agents for the greater good. AQAP takes the same position. Update 2: Bill notes the attack was near al Iman University.

al Babwa: Security sources said that 10 Yemeni intelligence agents were wounded Saturday when gunmen opened fire on their bus in the center of Sanaa. A Yemeni security source said that “Unidentified gunmen attacked at about 06:00 (3.00 GMT) a bus for the political security (intelligence in the center of Sanaa. This attack resulted in the wounding of ten elements of the security apparatus.

It was the first such attack inside the capital of Yemen since the attempted attack on the British ambassador in April.

These are the Hashimites arbitrarily taken prisoner based on their religious affiliation by Hussain al Ahmar’s forces in Houth, Amran. For prior report, click here. This is not related to the show that went on in al Hota, Shabwa. After the assault on Houth, Hussain al Ahmar issued a statement that the prisoners weren’t all in his tribal prisons, they are in official state prisons. But how does Hussain al Ahmar have the authority to go around rounding up villagers based on their religion and put them in official jail? That is actually a worse scenario that indicates Yemen is thoroughly out of control as has already devolved into various fiefdoms.

1. 1. العلامة / قاسم حسن قاسم السراجي
2. 2. عبدالخالق عبدالرحمن عبدالله الشرعي
3. 3. علي محسن حسين الــديـدي
4. 4. عبدالرحمن محمد محمد المتوكل
5. 5. حسين علي يحيى الشرعي
6. 6. صالح أحمد حومي
7. 7. عبدالقادر أحمد قاسم السراجي
8. 8. عبدالباسط محمد حسن الـديـدي
9. 9.أيمن عبدالقادر شرف الـديـدي

10. حمزة يحيى محمد السراجي

11. عبدالله صالح سباعي

12 (Read on …)

The only solution for Yemen is a caretaker government, as I have previously written. There must be a transition of power or things will continue to decline. If the US wants to address the root causes of terrorism in Yemen, sooner or later they are going to have to own up to the Saleh issue.

VOA British Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan said after Friday’s meeting that Yemen’s stability is one of the most pressing international issues right now. (Read on …)

“Do not stand idly by when dissidents everywhere are imprisoned and protesters are beaten. Because part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others.”

~President Barack Obama, U.N. speech, September 23, 2010

I agree with this statement completely, and I’m not standing idly by, thank you very much for your advice, Mr. President, but how does this statement relate to the official US policy in Yemen?

Another presidential quote: I never give them hell. I just tell them the truth and they think it is hell. – President Harry Truman

Now they are chasing them in the mountains. Twelve thousand citizens displaced, two mosques and five houses destroyed. Six soldiers, three al Qaeda and five civilians killed in the week long siege of Hota. Twenty-eight al Qaeda suspects arrested with unknown identities. I’m not sure the military ever took the city.

Yemen Post: The security authorities said on Friday they had cleared Al-Hawta town in Yemen’s Southeastern Shabwa Province of the Al-Qaeda fighters who fought the authorities over this week. (Read on …)

Africaasia Fighting in mountainous north Yemen between Shiite rebels and an army-backed tribe over the past four days has left at least 40 people dead, tribal and rebel sources told AFP on Wednesday. (Read on …)