Armies of Liberation

Saleh adopts Gaddafi’s strategy and money: Reports indicate the situation in Yemen has been influenced heavily by huge cashflows provided by the Libyan tyrant to his counterpart in Yemen. The first payment (equivalent to US Dollars 200 million) was delivered in cash two months ago to Saleh’s envoy to Libya, the notorious businessman Shaher Abdul Hak, sources report.

Libya has a long history of meddling in Yemen via payments to various individuals and groups.

(Its Day 12 if you don’t count the six year war in the north and the nearly four years of protests in South Yemen.)

Update: Sanaa, reports are two killed and somewhere between 10 and 26 injured after Ali Saleh’s deniable proxies open fire on protesters on Tuesday evening at Sanaa University. New national death toll is 13. Video here of rock throwing and gunfire. via email: “Our sources said that the promise of today’s attack was Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the eldest son of President and Ammar Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, President of the National Security Service.” The National Security was set up in 2002 because the PSO is both corrupt and infiltrated by AQ; in statistical studies, the National Security is responsible for most of the attacks on journalists whether by beating, kidnapping, death threats, torture etc. The National Security reports to Ali Saleh directly.

- Iranian vessel seized in Yemen: The Yemeni Defense Ministry reported that the Iranian vessel and its crew of 13 people have been arrested in the Aden Gulf as it was illegally sailing in the Yemeni waters. Happened before many times. Yemen govt will likely say Iran smuggling weapons to Houthis but much more likely Sudan. A few days ago, an Egyptian fishing vessel was captured.

- Yemeni youth demand Sheikhs who receive monthly stipend from Libya denounce violence against Libyan people. There is a LOT of Qadaffi’s money floating around Yemen through direct monthly payments and via his charitable fund. Daughter came in oh 2006 or so and spread oodles.

- Sanaa protesters find weapons, torch car (Tuesday) News Yemen: ten injured by rent-a-thugs at Sanna Univ, CNN: Student protesters in Sanaa, Yemen, overturned a car and set it on fire Tuesday after discovering weapons inside apparently brought to a demonstration by government loyalists, a protester said…The sit-in at Sanaa University is one of at least five protests going on Tuesday in Yemen. There were others in Aden and Taiz, and in the provinces of Ibb and Lahj.

- Dhalie teachers protest broken up by tear gas, batons and live fire News Yemen & reports, journo harrassed, Teachers have had periodic strikes to demand the implementation of the 2005 Wages Strategy. HOOD one serious injury, 16 wounded total, one LC member arrested. (Tuesday)

- People beaten in Hodeidah (Monday?)

- Protests in Hadramout, Yemen Post: About 5,000 anti-government protesters gathered in eastern Yemen calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime. Demonstrators marched on Tuesday in the eastern town of Al-Shiher, chanting “Down, down with Saleh.”

- Shoot-out in Marib with al Qaeda (Monday) ( SABA) Marib province have arrested the al-Qaeda leader Abdullah Maodhah ,while he was heading for Shabwa province with a group of terrorists. Governor of Mareb Naji al-Zayidi said that three soldiers were killed in a fire exchange between policemen and gunmen came to support Maodhah. The accident caused the killing of two civilians and one injured, in addition to wounding six soldiers

- Security intimidates, shoots protesters in Taiz (Sunday) Youtube vid here: military car drives into crowd, shooting. Vid gunshot victim here. Video of Liberty Square in Taiz, February 22, 2011.

- Clerics back Saleh, mixed messages from al Zindani, JMP and Hamid al Ahmar, great article, overview of groupings & positions Nassar Arabyee, worth full read, here’s part:

Nasser Arrabyee The association of the Yemeni clerics held an exceptional meeting on Monday February 21st, 2011, and said in a statement President Saleh should remove all corrupts around him and take “serious steps” for reforms.

One of the most influential Yemeni cleric said the opposition must take to streets only if President Saleh has not accepted their conditions for a guaranteed peaceful transfer of power.

“A national unity government must be formed, with the most important ministries shared between the opposition and the ruling party, to prepare for elections within six month,” said Sheik Abdul Majid Al Zandani, a leader in the largest Islamist opposition party, and chairman of the religious university of Al Eyman.

Libya? Faris Manna is a major weapons dealer, and was moving guns all around the region for years. He was also on the mediation committee representing the government in talks with the Houthi rebels. His brother Hassan was the governor of Sa’ada until he was fired after his brother’s arrest. When the shipment of Chinese weapons was seized, high ranking and influential Marib Sheiks blocked the road in a bid to persuade the government to release the cargo.

Sahwa Net- Al-Mithaq newspaper, the mouthpiece of Yemen’s ruling party, the General People’s Congress, has accused the former governor of Saada Hassan Mana’a of supplying weapons to the Houthi rebels in weapons… (after) he told a Yemeni newspaper, Al-Masdar, that (Deputy Minster of Interior, Mohammad) al-Quasi failed to run the battle with the Houthi in Saada.

Manna threatened to talk about who funded the purchases for the rebels, which usually results in appointment as an ambassador, a lethal raid, nasty articles and/or a government contract. (Read on …)

IN 2005, the Saleh regime accused Shiite individuals in Bahrain along with Kuwait with supporting the rebels. Later, during the next round, they accused Libya (which had some truth) and Iran. Qatar mediated the last official cease fire. Saudi Arabia has serious concerns of course, and Egypt is willing to act as a mediator currently. Iraqi MP’s said Iraq should host the rebels headquarters in retaliation for Yemen hosting wanted Iraqi Baathists. The US and some western allies are worried that the war is a distraction from Yemeni efforts against al Qaeda. Currently Iran and Yemen are having a media war over the Iranian media coverage of the war.

To the extent the Saleh regime keeps calling the rebels “Satanic”, as it has for years, and imposing sectarian overtones on a essentially political conflict, Sana’a risks stimulating ever wider fractures both in Yemeni society and the region.

the Media Line: Deadly clashes in Yemen between government forces and a radical Shi’ite group are fueling tensions throughout the Gulf region.

A member of the Bahraini ruling Sunni coalition is accusing Al-Wefaq, the largest opposition Shi’ite party, of supporting the Al-Houthi rebels in northern Yemen.

MP Sheikh Jassem A-Sa’idi, an independent MP from the coalition bloc, talked of “suspicious movements” Al-Wefaq was making towards the Al-Houthi rebels. A-Sa’idi argued overtures to the Al-Houthis could have a “dangerous” impact on official relations between Bahrain and Yemen.

“I have proof to confirm that prominent Al-Houthi figures from the highest ranks visited Bahrain and met exclusively with MPs from Al-Wefaq,” A-Sa’idi told the London-based A-Sharq Al-Awsat, added that the political meeting had preceded the latest round of fighting which began on August 11.

“This is a big lie,” MP Jalal Fairooz, from the Al-Wefaq party told The Media Line. “[A-Sa’idi] is very well known in Bahrain for explosive words which are groundless and have no reality.”

Egypt willing to mediate… from al Sahwa

Egypt and other Arab states would intervene to end the conflict between the Yemeni government and al-Houthi rebels in Saada, high-profile sources have revealed.

The sources disclosed that al-Houthi rebels demanded the Arab League to visit Saada, but the league refused the request and confirmed that the Yemeni government has the decision on this issue.

So if Iranian ships are docking in Yemen and all is honky dory with Gaddafi, then the slew of accusations and allegations of Iranian and Libyan support of the Houthi rebels likely was just more bizarre spin and propaganda.

Yemen, Libya to strike deal (Read on …)

I believe Libya more than Iran on funding the Houthis and Iran more than Libya on funding and facilitiating AQAP but thats just me. The idiots haven’t figured out that they are pawns in a much bigger game and never considered that they are being two timed by their own side. Its an amazingly complicated tangle of alliances going on over their heads.

Al Hayat: Al-Awfi is still “lost” despite his recantation and the fact that he handed himself in. As proof, he did not apologize for his “terrorist” acts and intentions. This is important because a confession is different, to the mentality of these men, from an apology. His admiration of the actions and intentions of his former colleagues and his Sheikh, Osama Bin-Laden, also casts doubts about the sincerity of his recantation of their course and ideology. (Read on …)

Iran trys to make everyone a Shiite…

Saleh: Yemen achieved positive successes in chasing terrorists al Motamar
Saturday, 28-March-2009
Almotamar.net, Saba – President Ali Abdullah Saleh has expected the Arab summit, to be held on 29-30 March in Qatar’s capital, Doha, will go after previous summits without effective decisions, urging Arab leaders to put an end to their rift. (Read on …)

That’s a good point and this is an interesting analysis on Yemen’s external affairs from the Yemen Post, if only because it says some different things. The relationship between Iran, Yemen and the war in Iraq is an important point. (There’s no mention of Syria, Iran’s proxy state but if you take a good look at Yemen and Syria, you get a sense of things.) Yemen is the playground between Saudi Arabia and Libya, and the Sa’ada War in some ways reflects that.

Yemen has a strategic location; however, there has been constant increase of weakness points and waste of strength factors. The strategic location is connected with the interests of regional and international powers. What happens nowadays is a clear manifestation of the feverish conflict between these countries over the Yemeni field.

Active Diplomacy

The authority has turned to be diplomatically active and through different manifestations:

- President Saleh made two telephone calls with Libyan President Col. Mu’amar Al-Qadhafi and Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.

- Sending Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs Rashad Al-Alimi to Saudi Arabia.

- Sending Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi to Oman

- Sending Col. Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, Commander of the Republican Guards, to the United Arab Emirates.

Regional Struggle

At the present time, there are four main players in the Yemeni field: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Libya and Qatar and these contesting parties have different goals to achieve. (Read on …)