Armies of Liberation

The Organizing Committee is associated with the JMP and Islah in particular, and the First Armored Division of Ali Mohsen. When the protesters attempted to march to VP Hadi’s compound, they were obstructed by the FAD and several scuffles ensued. Many were shocked that the protesters’ supposed protectors were attacked them. (Mohsen is also big on immunity for Saleh, and therefore himself, for prior war crimes.) This was the incident when al Khaiwani was accosted. In several later incidents, members of the Organizing Committee attacked protesters in various locations. There’s several videos of the confrontations. The Civil Coalition and the CCYRC are both independent distinct entities from the Organizing Committee. The following article is from the Yemen Times.

Youth protesters attacked by Islah members in Change Square

SANA’A, June 15 — Violence against independent youth protesters increased this week with both the first armored division and members of the Islah Party attempting to disrupt a march by youth against the acting president’s house. (Read on …)

Since when does Khalidabdul Nabi have transnational reach? Nabi is a long time Saleh operative. If al Nabi is leading the insurgency in Zinjibar, then its only with Saleh’s (and the Four Thugs’) approval and direction. If its the Yemeni government bombing him, its 100% a propaganda ploy. In 2009, al Nabi was on the side of the state in the intra-jihaddidi battle for Ja’ar and well paid for his efforts. It is as Yemeni analysts have said: Saleh pulled back his forces and opened the door in order to create chaos. Saleh said in a self-fulfilling speech that “al Qaeda” will take over four provinces without him.

Nabi said in an interview in 2005, after SAleh returned from visiting Bush, that he is only jailed when Saleh wants to impress the US and for future use against Saleh’s opponents. However if Nabi has linked up his extensive yet localized group of militants with AQAP, it would be a concern, if only for the new pool of US citizens that AQAP would have access to. But Nabi, as he has been for the last decade, is a domestic extremist only interested in imposing his version of strict Sharia on a community. Nabi is like the Taliban to Yemen’s al Qaeda. Nabi has very strong ties to the Yemeni security and intelligence services and acts as a mercenary regularly. Maybe the goal is to wipe out Saleh’s (and Mohsen’s) army of militants that the US ignored, excused and tolerated (and funded) for years as they were used to threaten the west with false flag terror attacks and other elaborate propaganda ploys.

The kidnapping of the two French citizens, like the Germans kidnapped two years ago, like the attacks on the UK ambassador, are state sanctioned terror acts. And instead of bombing the palace, the US is bombing Nabi. Is anybody with a beard fair game? Many of Yemen’s militants spent time fighting in the state sponsored jihad in Saada, including Nabi, as the US was allied with Saleh and condoned the collective punishment of an entire province. In Saada, the military was indoctrinated in hard core takfiri Salifism and soldiers were told Houthi blood is free. Suddenly the US is turning on its former allies by association, the previously acceptable “tribal paramilitaries” are now al Qaeda militants and subject to assassination. Its extremely inconsistent. They are all on the state payroll.

Al Harithy Jr., killed in a drone strike this month, had fought in Iraq and was not sanctioned by Yemeni court for those murderous activities. There was no strenuous objection from the US in 2007 at the time of his sentence. At the same time, the US military is staking US national security to the al Qaeda infested Yemeni security services led by Saleh’s relatives. I’ve previously published the names of the members of the counter-terror units who are also affiliated with al Qaeda. Secretary Gates had no post-Saleh planning as the US disrupted, and continues to disrupt, the progress of the Yemeni revolution. Yemen is a complex environment that requires a multi-pronged approach to vanquish al Qaeda, step for step nearly the exact opposite of current and prior US policy. To paraphrase al Asnag, continued US support for murderous criminals is severely alienating the rest of the nation.

http://www.yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=3718&MainCat=3
Governmental war planes bombarded the farms and property of wanted Islamic militant leader Khaled Abdul Nabi in Jaar, Abyan.

Abdul Nabi has been considered the most powerful Islamic militant in Yemen since the late 1990’s. This is the first time the government raid him directly.

Clashes have been ongoing in the province for the last seven hours and officials in Abyan said that three civilians have been killed in today’s raids.

Over the last two weeks of clashes in Abyan, more than 200 people have been killed, a number of them due to US drone attacks.

From the Yemen Post:

A US drone attack took place in Jaar, Abyan, on Saturday injuring six civilians. Eyewitnesses said the attack was expected to be targeting senior Jihadists in the area. No al-Qaeda members were hurt in the attack.Most of the attacks in Abyan have resulted in injuring wrong targets this month. At least 18 US drone attacks have taken place in June, in the highest foreign attack toll on Yemen lands in recent history.

The US is bombing and missing although there is supposed to be a better intelligence stream. In 2009, General Patraeus said the Bedouin locals killed in Abyan by a US missile strike were providing material support to al Qaeda by selling them food, implying the 42 civilians killed weren’t really civilians, and overlooking they had complained about the AQ infiltration to local authorities. What is one supposed to do when al Qaeda moves in? In this case, the residents are actively protesting.

Dawn ADEN, Yemen: Hundreds of residents of a southern Yemeni town in which al Qaeda has embedded itself called on Friday for the departure of the Islamic militants from their neighbourhood, an official said.

“Hundreds of residents of Jaar gathered in front of the town’s mosque to show their opposition to armed groups with links to al Qaeda,” Mohsen Salem Said, a member of the municipal council, told AFP.

He said residents “demanded that these armed men leave Jaar, so it does not befallen the same fate as Zinjibar,” a neighbouring town in Abyan province.

Hundreds of men presumed to be connected to al Qaeda on May 29 took control of Zinjibar after battles with the Yemeni army in which 140 people died, including about 80 soldiers. (Read on …)

Mostakela: :: آليات ما بعد ثورة اليمن ينبغي أن تبدأ محلياً
(ترجمه) الكاتبة الأمريكية نوفاك تبادر باقتراح آليات ما بعد الثورة
–
2011-يونيو(حزيران)-19

آليات ما بعد ثورة اليمن ينبغي أن تبدأ محلياً

كتبت: جين نوفاك*- ترجمة خاصة بـ “يمنات”

المصدر: مدونة الكاتبة /ورد برس

بعد ثلاثة أشهر من الاحتجاجات الدامية، ما يزال ملايين من اليمنيين ثابتين في الشوارع على طول وعرض البلاد. إنهم يريدون رحيل صالح ونظامه بالكامل. اندلعت مصادمات في صنعاء بين القبائل المُعارضة والفصائل العسكرية، وبدأ الرئيس صالح بشن أعمال عدائية بعد حجز فريق واحد من الوسطاء، بمن فيهم سفير الولايات المتحدة، وقصف فريق آخر من الوسطاء أيضاً. كما أن رفض صالح قبول فرصة ذهبية قدمتها له دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي لم يكن مفاجئاً. فمن اليوم الأول للثورة، يدرك المحتجون أنه سيقاتل حتى آخر قطرة من دمه، وسوف يستخدم أي وسيلة لازمة من اجل بقائه على السلطة.

سينجح الشعب اليمني بالإطاحة بصالح. وبالتالي، يجب على هذا الجيل من الثوريين اليمنيين أن يبدؤوا في اليوم الذي يلي صالح بعمل شاق لبناء اليمن الديمقراطي المدني الذي يلبي مطالبهم. وما أن تنجح الثورة، يجب حمايتها. ولعل واحد من سبل حمايتها يكمن في توزيع السلطة على المستوى المحلي.

وفيما يلي جدول زمني بـ اثنا عشر شهر بعد رحيل الرئيس صالح من السلطة. ويهدف هذا الاقتراح إلى خلق آلية لتحقيق مطالب الشباب اليمني الثائر. وترتكز هذه الآلية على مبدأ الحقوق المتساوية لجميع اليمنيين، حيث يأخذ الاقتراح على عاتقه وجوب بناء هيكل الحكومة المؤقتة من الألف إلى الياء، مع تركيز مطرد على الاحتياجات الفردية لليمنيين. نظراً لأن عملية إعادة توازن السلطة تتطلب ألا تُسوى فقط بين التكتلات المختلفة ومراكز السلطة، بقدر ما تتطلب أن تُسوى بين الشعب وكافة مؤسساته. ذلك أن تحقيق المصير الوطني الشامل يكمن فقط في منح سلطات واسعة على الصعيد المحلي.
(Read on …)

June 18, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/opinion/19karman.html?pagewanted=print

Yemen’s Unfinished Revolution
By TAWAKKOL KARMAN
Sana, Yemen

AFTER more than five months of continuous protests, I stand today in Change Square with thousands of young people united by a lofty dream. I have spent days and nights camped out in tents with fellow protesters; I have led demonstrations in the streets facing the threat of mortars, missiles and gunfire; I have struggled to build a movement for democratic change — all while caring for my three young children. (Read on …)

YOL Former Guantanamo detainee in Yemen named to US terrorist list 18/6/2011

The State Department Thursday added a freed Guantanamo detainee to its list of government-sanctioned terrorists, saying the Saudi Arabian soldier is now a fundraiser for the Yemeni offshoot al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula. (Read on …)

The orchestrated violence…
Support of criminals is eroding US influence in Yemen
By: Abdullah Alasnag – Ex. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Yemen
===============

“A roller coaster to hell” was the description of current affairs in Yemen given by a government official. With the Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh hospitalized in the Saudi capital Riyadh, the four thugs are continuing the destructive path they laid for their almost dethroned “god father” president.

Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president’s eldest son and commander of the Republican Guard forces, is convinced and adamant that he and he alone is the rightful successor to his father at the top of the Yemeni regime, according to presidential sources.

The three other thugs Yahya, Amar, and Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh the nephews of Saleh and leaders of Central Security Forces (CSF), National Security Agency, and Elite Presidential Guard respectively, are supporting their cousin in order to preserve their own financial interests and gains.

There seems to be yet another round of violence looming over the Yemeni capital Sana’a as eye witnesses continued to report that the Republican Guard is fortifying its positions and a new wave of arms is flowing into Sana’a especially to the military camp south of the presidential palace in “Bait Boos” including but not limited to BM-21 rocket launchers and an unspecified number of FROG-7 surface-surface missiles which were moved on the nights of June 11th and 13th, 2011.

Tribesmen loyal to the Hashid tribe leader Sheikh Sadeq Al-Ahmar continued to stockpile weapons in rented buildings along Siteen Road in the capital Sana’a.

It is widely believed amongst the political elite and intelligentsia in Sana’a that this renewed and anticipated confrontation will be the most violent and will wipe out most, if not all of the current powerful leaders. One political analyst warned that Saleh violated the most sacred tribal law of not attacking one’s home when he bombarded Shiekh Sadeq Al-Ahmar house in the Hasaba district of Sana’a. Similarly, the attack on Saleh himself in the presidential palace violated another sacred tribal law in Yemeni society by attacking a mosque which almost contained the top tier of the ruling class in its entirety.

The same analyst warned that the next round of violent clashes will see a different kind of savageness and brutality by all parts who will seek to wipe each other out.

Concurrently, a large war is raging in the governorate of Abyan in the south of Yemen with hundreds reported killed during the first two weeks of June 2011. Although the government has declared the dead as terrorists, a substantial number of these supposed terrorists have turned out to be on the payroll of the National Security Agency (headed by Amar Saleh). Many families of the deceased and supposed terrorists, have reported that their sons were employed by the National Security Agency and some families even presented NSA ID Cards belonging to the deceased. It is therefore readily apparent that the war in Abyan is a desperate attempt by the regime to convince the western world of a fabricated risk of terrorism, a ploy used every time the regime has faced political turmoil.

Continuing to play with time, one of the four thugs and commander of the CSF, Yahya Mohammed Abdullah Saleh told the BBC on June 11th 2011, that the GCC initiative will not be discussed until Saleh has returned from Saudi Arabia after completing his treatment. This same game was played by Saleh before his injury, only this time the actor is a different one.

With the EU and the US apparently terrified of these four thugs, the public in Yemen has started to raise many questions as to why the west hasn’t condemned the brutality and savageness the thugs have used against peaceful demonstrators in Aden, Taiz, Hodaidah, and Sana’a. A mild statement issued through the US embassy in Sana’a on the 30th of May 2011 has been the only denunciation made to date. On the other hand, the US was quick to condemn the attack on the president “in the strongest terms” by president Obama himself through his press secretary on June 3rd, 2011.

The tone of Obama’s statement convinced many of the Yemeni youth that the Obama administration is still supporting this tyrant and betrayed their own values of freedom and justice. One of the youth at the Change square in Sana’a said “When the US talks of freedom and human rights they only mean their citizens, they look upon us Yemenis as animals not humans deserving these rights.”

What is more puzzling is the leak in Sana’a and Riyadh of secret negotiations between the four thugs, the GCC, and the west for immunity from prosecution and a U.S.$ 2 billion (two billion US dollars) payout for them to leave power. Politicians from JMP are furious that this arrangement not only shields them from prosecution but also rewards them for the killing and massacres they have carried out throughout the country.

If true, this new proposal will usher the beginning of the end for US interests in Yemen over the long term, as Yemenis will always remember with dismay such a betrayal of democratic principles and values.

Indeed the latest statement by Secretary Clinton on the “strong Yemeni Constitution” was the subject of intense ridicule in Yemen as power should have been transferred to the vice president according to the constitution. Instead it has remained firmly in the hands of the four thugs who have completely sealed off the capital Sana’a as of 5pm June 8th, 2011.

In another display of complete disregard for the Yemeni citizens, the four thugs celebrated the discharge of the Yemeni president from the intensive care unit of the military hospital in Riyadh, with horrific shooting of cannons and heavy machine guns late at night and in several Yemeni cities. For about an hour, the shots lit up the Sana’a night sky and local residents terrified of the ferocity of the bombardment said good bye to their friends through Twitter, Facebook, and mobiles phones. One message on Twitter read “Forgive me the shooting is everywhere around me I might be killed now goodbye.” in Aden the Republican Guard fired cannons and heavy machineguns from the presidential palace in Maasheek in the Crater district, sending residents into a panic. A frantic lady in Aden cried out during a phone call and proclaimed, “They decided to kill us!” State television later announced that the bombardment was a celebration of the president’s good health. In the morning it was revealed that the “celebration” had left 3 dead and over 80 seriously injured.

It’s clear that the four thugs are the driving force behind President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s destructive mismanagement and corrupt rule. Accordingly, it is critical that they are removed from the picture if there is any hope of salvaging the country, especially taking the following events into perspective:
1. Use of the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) against protestors and in local wars against political opponents happened with the full complicity of Yahya Mohammed Abdullah Saleh the commander of the unit and the Central Security Forces (CSF). Three such cases are well documented:
a. The Huthi war in Saada where several members of the CTU were killed in action and constituted a grave loss to the CTU in 2009.
b. The bombardment of Al-Ayyam Newspaper headquarters in Aden on the 5th of January 2010.
c. Clashes in Sana’a between Saleh’s forces and tribesmen loyal to Sheikh Sadeq Al-Ahmar during June 2011.

2. Misleading intelligence which was provided by Amar Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, the head of the National Security Agency, and resulted in disastrous consequences on secret US military operations in Yemen. Examples are:
a. Al Majalla strike (17th December 2009) where not a single target of value was killed in the strike and the fiasco culminated in the Deputy Prime Minister apologizing to the Yemeni parliament and “Amnesty international” while publishing photographs of U.S. ammunition debris found at the site.
b. Mareb strike which killed the Deputy Governor of Mareb Mr. Jabber Al-Shabwani (25th May 2010). In this case in particular, the president informed the father of the slain Deputy Governor that the “Americans killed your son,” pushing further anti-American sentiment in the tribal area. The president’s comments also resulted in wrecking former American Ambassador Edmond Hull’s efforts over the course of 4 years to foster good relationships with the entire tribe.

3. Atrocities committed against activists and political opponents was ordered and commanded by Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh who used his Republican Guard troops as well as the CSF to carry them out.

In an interview published Saturday 12th June 2011 by Al-Hayat newspaper, Major General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar clearly accused Saleh of manipulating the western world with threats of Al-Qaeda, and pointed to terrorist elements in Saleh’s presidential guard who have appeared with him repeatedly during public events in published photographs. The general also singled out Amar and Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh as the overseers of Al-Qaeda operations in Yemen.

What is quite noteworthy is the complete and sudden cessation of piracy in the Gulf of Aden since the start of the youth revolution which further enforces earlier reports linking Saleh’s regime with piracy in the region. As Saleh became more and more engaged with the explosive situation in Sana’a, the threat of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea diminished.
In this connection, I have also elaborated in a previous report on the two private security companies owned (through fronts) by Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Yahya Saleh which use American military aid and resources funnelled to the Yemeni Coast Guard for private profiteering. According to officials and clients, the two companies are “Lotus Maritime Security Services,” which is based in Sana’a and the Channel Islands-based company called “Gulf of Aden Group Transits Ltd.”

The Coast Guard was also involved in smuggling diesel to Somali pirates in the area, whereby the American Embassy in Sana’a was involved in the removal of the previous Yemeni Coast Guard commander in 2007. Smuggling operations have continued however up to early 2011 and have expanded to include sales of arms, GPS, and radar equipment.

It is clear that post-Saleh Yemen will see legal action brought against all involved in these crimes. Legal action will also be pursued with respect to the criminal use of the CTU against civilians which has been and continues to be well-documented by Yemeni NGO’s in photographs and videos, especially during the last clashes in Sana’a between the Saleh’s regime and the tribal leader Sadeq Al-Ahmar.

The extension of legal ramifications of this regime’s actions to other countries especially the US therefore cannot be avoided. Moreover, under the immunity proposal which is currently being pushed by the American administration as a way out of the crisis in Yemen, only Saleh and his minions are immune, and lawyers are already finding ways of holding other countries liable for Saleh’s crimes.

Contacts with Yemeni, American, British, and French lawyers are currently underway to sue the government, Saleh, his relatives, and all who are involved in crimes against Yemeni citizens. By removing immunity from the GCC initiative however, Saleh and his family will ultimately face the brunt of the foreseen and necessary legal action. It may therefore prove to be a blessing in disguise that Saleh chose not to sign the GCC initiative.

Finally, I should pay tribute to the brave peaceful freedom fighters in all southern governorates as well as the courageous youth gatherings in Sana’a, Taiz, Hudeidah, and Ibb who have made great sacrifices to achieve total national aspirations and bringing to an end an era of corruption, tyranny, and abuse of power. I wish to conclude by stressing the fact that there is no interest for Yemen and its friends in continuing any efforts to secure a conditional return for the dictator on the basis of let bygones be bygones. The dictator of Yemen is a unique example, being a first class liar, merciless, and deceitful ally of governments and individuals who have invested their confidence in his promises and undertakings over the last 33 years.

Today, let us remember the words of the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The old order changes, giving place to the new.” Yemen is entering a new era of stability and development, and I hope that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, and all other friends of Yemen will offer their understanding and support to an emerging nation.

al jazeera reports clashes in al Houta.

Dozens of alleged al-Qaeda gunmen attacked security and government buildings in the southern town of Huta, killing two policeman and wounding five others, Yemeni medics and residents said.

Fierce clashes broke out at dawn on Wednesday between the armed men and police around the local branches of intelligence and central bank, and the courts in the Lahij province town of Huta, before dispersing toward nearby farms, residents said. (Read on …)

PPO: About one-in-ten (9%) say they followed news about the anti-government unrest and violence in Yemen very closely. This was the top story for 2%. News about Libya and Yemen each accounted for 3% of coverage.

About a quarter of the public (23%) says the economy was their top story of the week, according to the latest News Interest Index survey conducted June 9-12 among 1,002 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. By comparison, 13% say they most closely followed news about Weiner’s admission that he sent sexually suggestive photos and messages to several women online.

Yemen Post: The supreme coordination committee of the Yemeni uprising (Shabab) has given vice president Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, the acting president while Saleh is being treated in Saudi Arabia, a 24 hour headline to clarify his position towards the popular uprising and whether he will participate in a transitional council or not.

It also held him fully responsible for violence and carnage by the army in Arhab, Sana’a, Taiz, Zunjbar, Abyan, and other Yemeni cities since he is managing the country’s affairs at present.

The committee said in a statement, “calling for that, we believe there is no constitutional legitimacy but the revolution’s legitimacy and we will work with the country’s forces to form a transitional council within the hours following the duty of Hadi which will be in charge of managing the country’s affairs over nine months according to specific responsibilities”.

The statements identified these responsibilities as follows:
1- assigning a national personality agreed by all to form an efficient government
2- dissolving Parliament and Shura
3- trying and pursuing all those involved in killing and cracking down on the protesters
4- assigning a specialized panel to prepare a new constitution for the Yemeni republic that should ensures a modern civil state
5- forming a national election committee from competent personalities within 15 days since forming an interim government
6- setting a date for the vote of the new constitution and a date for parliamentary elections
7- forming a national council to be in charge of solving the south issues and other issues created by the Saleh regime topped by the tribal revenge
8- reformulating the components and responsibilities of the national security, political security systems on national bases and to be under the interior ministry
9- restructuring the army on national bases

WaPo: SANAA, Yemen — Islamist extremists, many suspected of links to al-Qaeda, are engaged in an intensifying struggle against government forces for control of southern Yemen, taking advantage of a growing power vacuum to create a stronghold near vital oil-shipping lanes, said residents and Yemeni and U.S. officials.

Over the past few weeks, the militants have swiftly taken over two towns, including Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, and surrounding areas and appear to be pushing farther south, said Yemeni security officials and residents. Increasingly, it appears as if al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate is seeking for the first time to grab and hold large swaths of territory, adding a dangerous dimension to Yemen’s crisis. (Read on …)

A lot of the weapons will likely be sold into the black market for food money. The weapons were destined for the military but they were diverted to para-military forces.

Al Sahwa

Sahwa Net- The commander of the Air Forces Mohammad Saleh Al-Ahmar has distributed 13500 pieces for thugs, loyal to the regime, well-informed sources told Sahwa Net. The sources affirmed that Al-Ahmar, half-brother of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was supposed to distribute 25,000 pieces of AK-47 to arm soldiers and officers of the Air Forces, but that did not happen.

They affirmed that some officers of the Air Forces held a meeting with Al-Ahmrar a week ago and they were promised to receive the weapons, but his promises has not been fulfilled. Meanwhile, dozens of the Air Forces’ officials carried out last week an open strike, demanding to have their financial dues.

Update 2: Zawaheri 6/16 via the al-Fajr Media Center.

Update by Aaron: Person or persons unknown have seen fit to release a counterfeit as-Sahab video claiming that OBL son Hamza has been named to succeed his father. The above banner is part of the promotional effort. The jihadis on the forums quickly denounced the video and removed it from their sites.

Original: My money was always on Hamza. Why? Because that’s who Abu al Feida announced in 2008 as bin Laden’s designated successor. Hamza was the only one who escaped from the SEAL raid. There was some earlier reporting that Hamza was offered and turned down the post; maybe they talked him into it now or elase its a cover to keep him out of the spotlight for the moment. See post 2/6/08 where in Abu al Fida (Rashad Mohammed Saeed Ismael) makes the announcement and sings Hamza’s praises. Al Feida (bin Laden matchmaker and adviser to President Saleh) was always well informed and in the loop. The fact that al Tahadi took it down just adds credence to the theory. Also Hamza and al Wahishi have the Iran connection.

MEMRI: Announcement Of Hamza Bin Laden As Osama Bin Laden Successor Posted, Immediately Removed On Jihadi Forums

On June 9, 2011, the jihadi forum Al-Tahadi published what appeared to be a video statement from the Al-Qaeda media wing Al-Sahab announcing that Hamza bin Laden, the son of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, had been declared the new leader of the organization.

The clufu continues. The following is an excerpt (googlish) of a report from Bakeel.net (of the Bakil tribe) on the prison break and chaos in Zinjibar that includes some statements by former Interior Minister Hussain Arab, who issued the travel docs to al Nashiri in 2000. I think the irony of his statement accusing Saleh of activating al Qaeda is lost on him.

Bakeel.net

And spread by masked gunmen in downtown Zanzibar and streets and government institutions, while the city has been witnessing an exodus of the population. As the region is witnessing violent clashes between insurgents and Brigade 125 in the city of Zanzibar, where the use of various heavy weapons and Alkhvivip. Gunmen stormed the central prison in the city was the release of detainees inside and according to eyewitnesses. The city has the widespread looting on the institutions and government facilities. And accused former Interior Minister Hussein Mohammed Arab regime of President Saleh al-Qaeda support through the “handing over” a number of cities Abyan governorate, which led to a regulation on the control of the reins in Zanzibar. (Read on …)

You cant reach Sabaphone subscribers from a land line or via overseas calling.

To my recollection, a search here on Ammar al Waeli will likely lead to the following history. Al Waeli was the subject of a 2002 FBI seeking info alert generated by an associate of Fawaz al Rabie, killed in 2006. Al Waeli was seen by eyewitnesses on a rooftop in Saada City exhorting residents against the Houthis during the sixth war (2010) while Ali Mohsen’s troops chewed qat. Al Waeli was also involved in the 2009 plot against Saudi CT chief Prince Naif along with Naif al Qatahani. Al Waeli, along with Hamza al Dyanai was allegedly instrumental in the 2007 murder of eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis in Marib in a suicide bombing by the (also deceased) Hamza al Qaiti group.

Al Waeli was convicted on terror charges in March. My assumption at the time was he was tried in absentia although the Saleh regime didn’t mention that part. Now in theory he is killed exiting Zinjibar, echoing some southerners reports of the RG attacking fleeing residents. Just keep in mind, Qasim al Reimi was reported dead three times by the Saleh regime. Al Waeli was also reported as killed in Jan 2010. Its important to note that different aspects of the Yemeni regime have relations with different groups of jihaddist mercenaries or state jihaddists as I call them, like al Nabi.

The Jaber al Shabwanis are possibly relatives but certainly tribesmen of the tribal sheik/assistant governor of Marib Jaber al Shabwani who was killed in an errant air strike (by who is still a question, in Marib some insist it was a Yemeni plane) as he was en route to negotiate al Qaeda surrenders. Ali Mohsen said recently Saleh orchestrated the hit on Sheik Shabwani. The sheik was the brother of Ayyed al Shabwani, a know al Qaeda operative.

al Motamar

The source made clear that a number of the organisation leaderships and its dangerous elements have been killed in qualitative operations by army men from brigade 201 and mechanized brigade 35 while those elements were fleeing Zanjibar city.

The source added that the operations led to the killing of terrorist Amar Abada al-Waeli, one of the most dangerous leaders of al-Qaeda organisation and with him seven other elements in addition to killing the terrorist Abu Ali al-Harithi , a leading element in Shabwa province , terrorist Abu Ayman al-Masri , media official in the organisation , terrorist Ali Saleh Farhan ‘amir of the organisation in Mareb province an a number of terrorist elements that came from Mareb province , among them the terrorist Mabkhout Ali Jaber al-Shuwani and wounding his brother Fahad Ali Jaber al-Shuwani .

Ruling Party: No Dialogue Until Saleh is Back, Yemen Post:

The ruling General People Congress party insists that no negotiations can take place in the absence of President Saleh. “The ruling party will wait until its leader, President Saleh, is back to Yemen. He will be back soon and it will not harm the opposition to wait a couple of days,” said Abdu Ganadi, the deputy minister of information.

The youth organizing committee said that protesters will not sit and watch as both government and opposition stall the revolution and negotiate. “Our steps will be quick and vital. The revolution will succeed and anyone standing in front of the youth will be held accountable,” said Ridwan Masood, a member of the committee.

a) Drone attacks with civilian casualties could trigger a civil war if the previously unarmed Southern Movement believes it is being arbitrarily attacked by Saleh’s forces or Mohsen’s. Vid of some aircraft bomber in South Yemen is widely assumed to be Saleh’s air force and is provoking panic at the thought of a new bombing campaign like the one that occurred in Saada. (Update: Vid likely not US, has the wrong contrail, vid recorded yesterday and supposedly hit Abyan City. Whereas US air strike was in Shabwa and days earlier.) (Local reporting on Shibuya.)

Update: CNN reports Abu al Harithy Jr. was in Shabwa and the Yemeni government is taking credit on TV.

A U.S. military official with knowledge of the Yemen campaign told CNN that U.S. military-led air operations recently resumed after a pause of some months. He also said the United States believes it likely killed al-Harithi in an airstrike in southern Yemen in recent days. But he cautioned its “very difficult” to confirm the killing.

The official said the pause was due to the fact the United States “didn’t have faith in the information available,” to conduct targeting against individuals in Yemen during that time frame. He could not say what led to the improved intelligence picture, but the Yemeni government has been absorbed with the anti-government demonstrations raging in big cities and fighting tribal forces.

The US also pledged $26 mil in humanitarian aid today.

b) The embedded links in this section lead to contemporaneous posts on the 2006 trial of the 19 member Zarchawi cell headed by Ali Abdullah Naji Al-Harithi, nicknamed Abu Ali Al-Harithi junior. This is the cell that won its appeal to reduced charges by arguing successfully that its legal under Yemeni law to commit murder abroad in the name of jihad. They admitted traveling to Iraq as well as establishing training camps in Yemen. The cell made explosive belts because John Kerry mentioned something about Yemen during a presidential candidates’ debate, but then when he didn’t win, they claimed at trial they gave the belts to the intelligence services. Al Hairthy was killed in a recent US air strike (Friday 6/3) in Yemen per the NYTimes report below.

c) Another thing I will never understand about US CT policy is why Yemen got a total pass from 2004-2007 when literally thousands of jihaddists, Yemeni and non-Yemeni, were being trained in Yemen to kill US troops in Iraq. There is an incorrect concept that there was little AQ activity in Yemen during that time frame, however Yemen was buzzing with activity, receiving and exporting jihaddists. They would leave by the plane load openly. Its reasonable to say half of US military deaths and injuries in Iraq were perpetrated by individuals who in some way were connected with the Yemeni pipe line. That’s a mind boggling statement when Bush was always whining about Syria letting them into Iraq but never once publicly about Saleh letting them out of Yemen. Overview of Yemenis in suicide ops in Iraq as well as coordination with Baathists in Yemen here. Saddams nephew never located as far as I know.

NYT: June 8, 2011
U.S. Is Intensifying a Secret Campaign of Yemen Airstrikes, By MARK MAZZETTI

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has intensified the American covert war in Yemen, exploiting a growing power vacuum in the country to strike at militant suspects with armed drones and fighter jets, according to American officials.

The acceleration of the American campaign in recent weeks comes amid a violent conflict in Yemen that has left the government in Sana, a United States ally, struggling to cling to power. Yemeni troops that had been battling militants linked to Al Qaeda in the south have been pulled back to the capital, and American officials see the strikes as one of the few options to keep the militants from consolidating power.

On Friday, American jets killed Abu Ali al-Harithi, a midlevel Qaeda operative, and several other militant suspects in a strike in southern Yemen. According to witnesses, four civilians were also killed in the airstrike. Weeks earlier, drone aircraft fired missiles aimed at Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric who the United States government has tried to kill for more than a year. Mr. Awlaki survived. (Read on …)

There are many ways to skin a cat apparently. In 2010, South Africa sold about R 8.3 million or over 1 million dollars in weapons to Yemen. However no Ratel armored vehicles were sold. Ratel vehicles shown in Yemen in pictures by Reuters show the pro-change or defected military in possession of them currently. The armored carriers were likely shipped to Yemen in violation of their end use certificates. They appear to be converted versions of the South African Ratel carrier produced in Jordan by the Paramount Group, in co-operation with the King Abdullah Design and Development Bureau (KADDB). Additionally, Saleh opened his own bullet and tank factories in the last few years.

CAPE TOWN — South African- manufactured Ratel armoured infantry carriers have been photographed in strife-torn Yemen, leading the Democratic Alliance (DA) to call for an investigation by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC).

The Ratels were apparently being operated in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, by soldiers who had defected to protesters demanding the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule.

The presence of the vehicles either means SA authorised their export or that another country sold Ratels to Yemen, which would constitution a violation of the end- user certificate. (Read on …)

Late update: Saleh: late night in Sanaa and Taiz, over two hours of heavy gunfire so far from pro-Saleh forces shooting in air at news of his return or good health. Simultaneous in Dhamar, Hadramout. In Aden, govt cars seen shooting live rounds (more celebration?) Over 20 wounded in Sanaa arrive at the field hospital. According to friends in Saudi Arabia, theres no report airing about Saleh’s good health and return, and Mareb Press just retracted the report that Saleh wanted to return in 24 hours. However “celebratory” gunfire continuing for hours already. The RG is going to be cranky tomorrow.

Sanaa: Ali Mohsen meets US, EU ambassadors; forces intercept two attacks on Acting President Hadi’s compound. Reports also disbursed protesters demanding a transition council, near Hadis compound, dozens injured. Vid, al Khaiwani arguing with Askar Zoail, Ali Mohsen’s extremist office manager who incited soldiers with sermons on jihad against the Houthis at a mosque in the fifth Saada war. Al Khaiwani was later nearly kidnapped. Later video indicates Zoali’s forces shooting into the air. See below for Mohsen’s role in Abyan fighting.

JMP: did not meet with Hadi, expect to meet within two days; seek Hadi’s formal declaration that Saleh’s reign is over, threaten to unilaterally create transitional council with protesters.

Protesters: demand transitional council immediately in mass demo, “In Sana’a, a spokesman for the youth-led protesters in the change square outside Sana’a University said, after thousands of people marched Street 60th, they had given a 24-hour deadline for the concerned political parties to form a transitional council otherwise the revolutionaries will do that.”

Taiz: still tense, sporadic clashes on the outskirts of town. The Al Qaeda district is the name of the suburb, not a AQAP hideout. Three killed Maweah and Thikra

Ibb : YP: Government forces clashed with armed tribesmen in Qaeda district, Ibb province, 30 miles off Taiz province. According to the tribesmen, the goal of the tribes is to get rid of all government forces attacking the people. “Security forces are now using this lawless time in the country to loot and attack civilians. We will not allow our people to be attacked and will ensure that they are safe from any attacks from pro govt thugs,” said a tribal fighter.

Hodiedah: roads leading in blocked by pro-Saleh thugs.

Saudi Arabia, “Yemen’s neighbor and the biggest GCC country, said after a June 6 Cabinet meeting chaired by King Abdullah that the proposal is still viable, and called on Saleh to accept it. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, will also send Yemen 3 million barrels of oil to alleviate fuel shortages, Yemen’s state news agency Saba reported yesterday.” ( SFgate)

Saada: Mass protests in favor of the end of the regime and against all plots on the rev.

UNICEF: Yemen facing humanitarian disaster.

State Department briefing; must read

AQAP: a decent analysis at Foreign Affairs of relation between tribes and AQAP and prospect in the post-rev phase.

Zinjibar: reduced to “hell” with fighting among unclear sides: < <"There is a cat-and-mouse game going on in the streets now between the army and armed men. I can't tell who's who among them any more,"... The fighting has reduced Zinjibar, once home to more than 50,000 people, to a ghost town without power or running water.>> Most residents of Zinjibar fled to Aden where many are sheltering in public buildings. The Central Security forces of Yahya are attacking the refugees as they flee.

The armed parties appear to be the national military, local tribesmen, local militants (both Saleh’s and Mohsen’s) and the defected army but I’m checking. Update: Gah!!! Armed members of the southern movement also maintaining security on some roads, and for sure they would be described by the regime as al Qaeda. If this is true, southerners carrying arms and creating their own security checkpoints outside local villages in various governorates, its new. (I deleted the areas where they are deployed or the regime will start bombing them.) It needs to be double checked. But being rebuffed after asking to coordinate security with the international community leaves few options. However as security fails, its likely the Southern Movement will reject new deployments by either Saleh’s forces or Mohsen’s forces. The only possibility is Aliwi who has a better reputation in the south than Hadi (as unlike Hadi he didnt attack civilians in the 1986 civil war, according to local lore.) And Mohsen is Mohsen.

Abyan: Local direct reports indicate military airplanes dropped two bombs today recently. Vid here of warplanes that bombed Abyan City, per local sources.

Another says the attack was on tribesmen who took up arms in the face of military assaults. “Ms. Novak – Greetings – I would like to clarify what is happening today in the province of pilgrimage in southern Yemen as a witness elders – the army is firing different weapons on the housing Almutnyen and Batalli tribes touched by the bombing respond and of these forces and drops dead from both sides.” Still no names on the militants leaders, but likely remnants of the localized jihaddist group AAIA operating under another new name. Upon asking, it seems that most discussions on southern forums regarding Zinjibar are operating on the assumption (as am I) that Khaledabul Nabi* is leading the jihaddists in Abyan but no eye witness confirmation. Ja’ar and Zinjibar are close enough. In 2009, Nabi was fighting on the side of Saleh in the battle of Ja’ar, another jihaddist proxy war.

Update, Southern Yemen: Ali Mohsen’s forces are in Abyan, see YT article Rebel soldiers engage militants, but are described below as “gunmen” so these could be the jihaddists as well. Majority of Mohsen’s soldiers are either graduates of Iman Univ or loyal to Zindani, per local buzz. The defected military issued a statement though that they were going to intervene in Abyan as military, and that may be what is triggering an armed (defensive) response by the southern movement if there is indeed an armed response. When the article below talks about forces loyal to Islah, it sounds like they mean armed militants loyal to Mohsen and Zindani. Maybe this is what Nuba meant by an invasion of Zindanis forces.

So Abyan could be a proxy war between Saleh and Mohsen with both sides using militants and military men and equipment. and the southerners who take defensive positions attacked by both. Now I really have a headache. Saada source comments, “That’s exactly whats happening with al Jawf,” and likely why the Houthis are fighting there, as a defensive measure.

Al Jawf/ Marib: Battles reported and continue over last months between Houthis and “Islahis” in conjunction with Mohsen’s forces, with back up from pro-Saleh forces according to news and local sources. Explains positioning of large amounts of troops there. Both the Mohsen forces and Saleh forces, militants and military, are fighting the Houthis in rotation. These developments bring into question both Mohsen’s alleged reformation and his commitment to the youth rev goals. Maybe he is just out to finally wipe out the Houthis and the Southerners. Clarification: There’s no troops on the al jawf/Saada border. Troops and militias of both Saleh (Republican Guards and militias) and Mohsen’s army and militias are on the border of Aljawf/Mareb and also inside both Aljawf and Mareb. There’s quite a number of troops in Saada but they are non-combative.

Yaf3press: Lapin: genocide and the destruction of cities, “Zanzibar and Jaar .. and forces loyal to the Reform Party (ed-Islah) and Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar involved in control of southern Yemen. (Read on …)