Armies of Liberation

The US continues to freeze out the most democracy minded of the Yemeni population (as the unity government and GCC plan re-establishes the status quo and empowers traditionalist elements of society) in order to retain its CT investment and permissions, as the Sana’a regime mobilizes its terrorist paramilitary in order to prove the need. Its a very dangerous game. I thought Def Sec Gates was being dramatic when he said the US had “no post Saleh planning” in March 2011, but apparently not. Why we are continuing to support a regime that overtly enables terrorists at the expense and against the will of 22 million people is beyond me.

The US always insists the National Security is the cleanest of the intel services. It may be but its not saying much when we are comparing it to the PSO. There’s such a long list of double crosses involving the National Security specifically, and they are doing it again in the AQAP takeover of al Beydah.

Alsahwah.net- Yemen opposition has accused the outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh of supporting Al-Qaeda and help it control Yemeni towns and areas.

It said Saleh tries to persuade the global world that he is the only who can fight Al-Qaeda.

The Assistant Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party, Yahya Abu Asboa, told an Emirati newspaper, Albyan, that he has information that Yemeni army and security forces loyal to Saleh facilitate the expansion of Al-Qaea.

” Saleh supports Al-Qaeda to disrupt the National Consensus government led by the opposition and make foreign states believe that Saleh’s ouster would strengthen Al-Qaeda” added he.

Al-Qaeda militants extensively expanded in Zinjbar of Abayn governorate, and nearly 5,000 Al-Qaeda militants and recruiters are currently existed at Azan of Shabow governorate.

It further said the main road linking between Shabwa and Abyan is completely controlled by the militants.

Political leaders of Al-Baidha governorate accused leaders of the General People Congress party headed by Saleh of complicity with the militants to capture the town of Rada’a.

A Yemeni journalist, Aref Al-Omari, affirmed that tribal leaders loyal to Saleh cooperated and coordinated with Al-Qaeda to take over Rada’a in attempt to shuffle the cards and hinder the holding of the early presidential election to be held on February 21.

He cited that the militants are led by Tareq Al-Dahab and Abdul-Salam Al-Nosairy, tribal leaders who are known as members of GPC.

Local sources told Alsahwah.net that Rada’a is not a fertile ground for Al-Qaeda, pointing out that the regime of Saleh previously attempted to bring militants to Rada’a, but they were faced and expelled by local residents.

The sources held military commanders of the Republican Guard existed in Rada’a responsible for allowing the militants to capture the town without any resistance.

So we have Mohammed al Nosairi in one article and Abd al Rhaman al Nosairi in another, and they could be the same person or related but GPC member Tariq al Dhahab is described as leading the al Qaeda forces in both.

More from the Yemen Post:

Armed groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda calling itself as “the Islamic Jihad Group” took over on Saturday night a archaeological town of Rada’a and captured the famous castle of Alamiria and its mosque, local sources affirmed.

Local sources said that armed clashes between the militants and residents are still going, pointing out that the number of casualties are unknown.
Flocks of militants flow to the town, some 150 km southeast of the capital, Sana’a, amid fears of residents who worry of turning their town to a conflict battlefield, added the sources.

Yemeni analysts said Al-Qaeda attempts to expand its control on Yemeni areas, pointing out that the capture on Rada’a will help Al-Qaeda reach other Yemeni strategic areas

Yemeni news reports said local residents led by the tribal leader, Mohmmad Al-Nosairi, are strongly fighting Al-Qaeda militants near the castle of Alamria.
They said that the militants are led by Tariq Al-Dahab, a relative of Anwar Al-Walaki, a Yemeni-American cleric who was killed in a American drone strike last fall.

A Yemeni senior opposition leader of the Yemeni Socialist Party, Yahya Abu Asboa, said Yemen’s security forces did not exert enough efforts to prevent Al-Qaeda militants from entering Rada’a.

He further cautioned against plans of Al-Qaeda to attack the oil-rich city of Marib located close to Sana’a.

Critics of the outgoing Ali Abdullah Saleh accused him of turning a blind eye to the expansion of Al-Qaeda to prove to the global world that his existence is vital to face terrorism and other Jihadi groups inside the state.

They also alleged that he used Al-Qaeda as a card to cling to power, use force against anti-regime porters and have American financial assistances.

Gold accused Sheikh Khalid, his brother, Tariq, who leads the gold jihadist groups affiliated with al Qaeda, the city of white Radaa province, in coordination with the National Security Agency, and with points of high and close to the presidential house in Sana’a, such as control of the city Radaa order declaring an Islamic emirate.

Gold said in a statement to «Marib Press» Tariq Hqih that gold is backed regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, said that his brother with the coordinator and former interior minister, Rashad al-Masri disinfectant, and with the National Security Agency.

With denounced the gold entering the jihadist groups to Radaa, under the silence of the camps located in the vicinity of Radaa, said that security forces handed over his brother Tariq gold castle and the city, pointing out that if the cessation of a soldier and a one-stop machine gun rounds fiftieth is able of these groups to take control of the castle and the city.

Gold revealed that his brother met the elements of the national security apparatus, such as control of the Radaa days, and said that he had spoken with his brother and told him that he coordinated with the government.

Mareb Press

I wonder if these are some of the `16 al Qaeda escapees that Saleh was hiding in one of his palaces near Sanaa, as Sadiq al Ahmar told France 24 . Everyday in Yemen is a carbon copy of the last and after a while, its just absurd.

And yet another a jail break:

Al-Qaida free 250 prisoners in Yemen

16-01-12

Hundreds of al-Qaida militants broke into a central jail in Yemen’s southeastern province of al-Bayda on Monday, setting free about 250 prisoners, a provincial security official said, a day after the terrorist group seized the province’s Radda town.

“Hundreds of al-Qaida bearded men wearing security uniform onboard pickup trucks stormed the central prison in Radda this morning, killing several security soldiers and releasing 250 prisoners,” the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The militants also took over all security checkpoints around and inside the city, as well as several government facilities, including the post office and the telecommunications center, the official said, adding that the militants were surrounding the building of the Central Bank of Yemen.

“More militants were still flooding into Radda from nearby provinces of Marib, Abyan, Shabwa, Hadramout, Aden, Lahj and Saada,” said the official.

On Sunday,the militants seized Radda town of al-Bayda province, which borders the restive province of Abyan, a key stronghold of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

The AQAP group has seized several cities and towns across the restive southern provinces, as the Yemeni government forces engaged in fierce clashes with militants over past months, leaving hundreds of people killed.

(Xinhua)

Maybe they are trying to weaken the Houthis by opening another front

Yemen Times: 20 or 80?

SANA’A, Jan. 15 — At least 80 militants believed to be from Al-Qaeda entered Rada’, the capital of Al-Baidah, 170 km south-east the capital Sana’a, on Saturday, according to Yahiya Al-Nusairi, head of the governorate’s Architecture Office.

Al-Nusairi told the Yemen Times that they first entered the Al-Ameria Mosque at 3 p.m., and proceeded to perform the afternoon prayer.

“They performed two prayers there and then delivered a lecture. After that, they seized Al-Ameria Castle,” said Al-Nusairi. He added that people cannot stop anyone who wishes to pray in a mosque. He said, however, that he does not “really know how they passed the checkpoints with their weapons and rocket propelled grenades”.

Al-Nusairi continued: “After we asked them not to do any harm to the mosque, nor to break the branch of a single tree, their leader, Tariq Al-Dhahab, promised to comply.”

However, according to the district-based RDA Press website, the militants’ number didn’t exceed 20 and that they left the mosque to stay at an old fort overlooking the district.

The Al-Ameria Mosque and school was built 500 years ago in the Islamic architectural style. Al-Nusairi said that it is currently open only for prayer, but that use of the bathrooms has been suspended because of financial difficulties. People in groups have not prayed together there for 15 years, as it has been under renovation.

Al-Nusairi said that the militants may have been urged on by Islah Party followers from Rada’. Members of the conservative opposition party, he continued, may have pushed the militants to help them open the mosque.

“We do not know what their intention is,” he concluded.

According to Majed Karrod, a reporter from Marib Press, the militants passed through checkpoints and “soldiers might have even greeted them.” He said that Tariq Al-Dhahab was accused a couple of months ago of killing seven government soldiers.

“Al-Dhahab was among the militants who seized Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan governorate, in May. He has a battalion of 400 to 500 warriors,” said Karrod.

Targeted assassination attempts continue:

Yemen Post: Senior Opposition Leader still in Bad Condition; Youth Blaming Government for Incident

Defected military loyal to the opposition warned on Monday that its leaders will be targets of government assassination plots.

One day after the warning, Mohammed al-Mutawakil, the secretary general of the opposition popular front (ed-PFU) party was injured in a traffic accident the opposition call as planned by the government in an effort to kill him.

He was hit by a motorcycle as he was walking down the street. Al-Mutawakil received serious injuries to the head and is now hospitalized.

Hundreds of youth and opposition leaders visited al-Mutawakil and were not happy.

“We are sure this is not an accident. His health is really bad. This is planned and he was one of the respected leaders in the eyes of the pro revolution youth,” said Abdullah Najjar, a youth activist who visited al-Mutawakil

Majority of Yemen opposition leaders have left the country knowing that Yemen is not safe for them anymore. The interior ministry denied that the incident was planned and is investigating with the motorcycle driver.

Saleh has a trail of blood behind him dating back decades. The car accident is among the most repetitive tactics. There are no moral restraints on the regime; its no surprise that the opposition is making this accusation. Its possibly true. The 1999 death of the great Yemeni activist and editor, Abdulazziz al Saqqaf is one event that generates national suspicion. Leaving a lunch with Abdubakr al Qirby (a medical doctor), Professor al Saqqaf was run over and killed by a car in a sequence that made no sense as an accident. Al Qirby later became and remains Yemen’s Foreign Minister. New information came to light in the last months about Saleh’s complicity in the death of at least one former president, prior to attaining the presidency himself. The treachery of Saleh has no bounds.

Update: The motorcycle was driven by children according to buzz. The PFU rejects the Interior Ministry’s announcements issued without conducting an investigation.

Update 2: al Mutawakil transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatement.

Islah’s repression of independent thought and revolutionaries continues:

Yemen Post: Islah profile: As revolutionaries in Yemen are celebrating their victory in eventually obtaining some worldwide attention, and relishing in the fact that western nations have taken up the matter of Saleh’s presidency to the UN Security Council, the main opposition party, al-Islah is slowly but surely high jacking the revolution, rallying to its cause more and more protesters. (Read on …)

The YT has a good write up of the conflict in al Jawf and comes to the conclusion the Houthis are expansionist.

Yemen Times: Sunni-Shiites war in Al-Jawf

War broke out five months ago between Houthi rebels – who are Shiite Muslims – and the locals of Al-Jawf governorate – themselves Sunni Muslims – 143 km northwest of the capital city of Sana’a.

Around 470 Houthis were killed and over 85 of Al-Jawf’ s citizens lost their lives in this four-month-long war, Sheikh Arfj Bin Hadban, a local tribal leader in Al-Jawf, told the Yemen Times. (Read on …)

The following interview with the manager of Saada Radio gives a glimpse into Saada and al Jawf including the recent clashes between the Houthis and local Islahis:

Yemen Times
Q: But, some locals in Sa’ada told us that the Houthis do not allow anyone to air an opinion against them, for instance, describing them as Twelver Shiites.

A: First of all it is misleading to say that the Houthis are Twelver Shiites. They are not. They are Zaydis.

Are you a Houthi?

No I’m not Houthi, I’m a state-employee at Sa’ada Radio. We used to be against the Houthis. I’m Zaydi and over 99 percent of the population in Sa’ada is Zaydi, but there is no group here called Twelver Shiites.

And it is not true that the Houthis prohibit others from expressing their opinions. If this were true, they would prevent the Salafists from practicing their traditions such as Taraweeh prayer [a prayer done at night during Ramadan after the Al-Esha festival], which does not exist in the Zaydi school.

But if you went to Sa’ada today, you would find the religious traditions of both Zaydis and Salafists performed in their mosques with no problems. They are not going to bring their prayers out of the mosque and argue that our Zaydi School approves of this religious practice. And not only Salafists, but Islahis practice there as well.

There is also hard-core group of Salafists called Muqbil group. They are extremists and they have their school in Damaj, Sa’ada. They carry out their traditions in complete freedom. (Read on …)

It doesn’t appear to be the transitional council, but rather a unified front to lead the rev to the point of the transitional council. Its a good step if they make an action plan, drawing on input from their constituencies, as opposed to devolving into a top heavy, bickering entity that issues statements. They better have an English spokesperson unlike the JMP, CCYRC, Civil Coalition, the Southern Movement and the Houthis who all left the regime’s propaganda statements unchallenged in English for a decade. Photos.

Sahwa Net – Yemen opposition parties, the ruling party’s defected politicians met on Wednesday and formed a 143-member national council which aims at uniting various groups against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The council included representatives of civil society, members of the secessionist Southern Movement, and the northern Shiite Huthi rebels, as well as independent activists

According to Yemen’s opposition parties, the national council will lead the forces of the revolution until Ali Abdullah Saleh’s departure.

The opposition meeting was held at a hall in Sanaa University amid tight security enforced by the army’s First Armoured Division led by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who defected to the opposition in March.

More on the anticipated function from the WaPo:

Salem Mohammed Bassindwa, a top opposition figure, says youth groups and political parties named 143 council members to represent the people, a rare show of unity.

“This is a revolutionary council aimed at toppling the rule of the (Saleh) family and the remnants of this regime,” Bassindwa said. He clarified that it is “not an alternative to the government.”

The council members will elect a president and an executive body. It will also form “popular committees” in Yemeni cities, to be in charge of “protecting citizens’ properties and state institutions” at time of crisis and street clashes, he said.

Ok a listing of the names from News of the Yemen Rev in English

1. Ahmad Al-Qatabi
2. Ahmad Bahaj
3. Ahmad Bazarah
4. Ahmad Salem Obeid
5. Ahmad Said Hashed
6. Amat Al-Salam Raja’a
7. Amal Al-Basha
8. Ameen Al-Akemi
9. Ensaf Mayo
10. Bushra Al-Maqtari (Read on …)

Update: SABA provided a translation of Saleh’s speech to the tribal leaders which indicates that he is back to square one, elections in 2013. Same old rhetoric applied to the new oppositionists: he trashes the youth as Marxists, Royalists seeking to restore the Imamate, and the Taliban. How many times have we heard it before? He accuses the tribal elements of stealing the rev from the youth and says, without a trace of irony, he is committed to a transition of power.

SABA:

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,

Let me first congratulate you on the occasion of the blessed month of Ramadan. I salute you and pay tribute of respect to you for convening such a conference and I hope that it will conclude with effective decisions and recommendations. I have here with me my brothers parliament speaker Yahya al-Ra’i and prime minister Ali Mohammad Mujawar. They also salute you and salute your conference, which is being held amid dangerous and important circumstances.

We must discuss all the available data, all the events in Yemen, and how to get our country out of the crisis – the crisis which was fabricated by some political forces to reach power. We welcome the opposition and tell them that “you can reach power through ballot boxes, not through coups, statements, denunciation, insults, or irresponsible speeches.” (Read on …)

Pop quiz: Q: What was the characteristic response of the Saleh regime to power sharing demands following unity in 1990 that precipitated the 1994 civil war? A: Assassinations. Hundreds of southern political leaders were assassinated, often by veterans of the Afghan jihad who were allied with Saleh.

Five protesters wounded in Sanaa by an explosive device thrown from a car with police plates.

War planes bomb Arhab, five dead. Three houses, a mosque and many farms damaged. Clashes in Nehm, 20 km south of Arhab, eight wounded.

The Yemen Post reports Hamid Al-Qushaibi of the 310th escaped a car-bomb assassination attempt in Amran province but al Sahwa reports Major Ismail al-Ghurbani, commander of the 310th Armored Brigade of the 1st Armored Division was shot dead in an assassination in Amran

A truce between Islah and the Houthis in al Jawf will go into effect 8/17 when the JMP declares the national council; Fares Manna, UN sanctioned weapons dealer and long time associate of Saleh, will be replaced as governor by Sheikh Hussein Al-Thaneen from the Islah Party.

One person was killed and three wounded Sunday evening when a suicide car bomber detonated at a gathering of Houthis near the health center in al Jawf, News Yemen reported. The Houthis blamed the US, saying “The process shows the intense action and malicious plots by the Americans and the targeting of Yemen in general and the northern areas in particular.” Mareb Press reports dozens of injuries. Interior Ministery says 14 dead and the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

16 suspected al Qaeda were killed Sunday as clashes in the province take place in seven areas. The tribesmen (like the commander of the 25th Mechanized) say that the government is arming the al Qaeda militants and providing other support.

Yemen Post: Local tribesmen in Abyan province, fighting with government against militants, are accusing the government of helping al-Qaeda fighters stay strong by attacking tribal posts and arming the militants.

According to tribal sources in Abyan, at least 19 tribesmen have been killed by government attacks.

A senior Yemeni Defense Ministry official denies that the toll is that high, but did not deny that government raids did kill tribal fighters in accidental attacks.

Over the last month, tribes have succeeded to retake more than 60 percent of the province from the hands of suspected al-Qaeda militants after the government failed to show progress in its fight against the militants since May.

At least 1600 tribesmen are fighting al-Qaeda militants in the province.

More than 15 al-Qaeda fighters were arrested on Thursday by the tribesmen as their push to cleanse the province from the militants nears the final steps.

Update: Sultan al Barakani says Hamid al Ahmar is the prime suspect in the bombing on the presidential palace because the sims cards used in mobile phones belonged to SabaFone.