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Arabia

Pressure on Houthis to Withdraw From the Giants Brigade

2016-05-04

Yemeni peace consultations in Kuwait ended two days ago due to the rebels continuously violating the truce and their control over the “Giants Brigade” in the governorate of Amran. However, informed sources revealed that the UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh, the ambassadors of the 18 countries sponsoring the peace process in Yemen and the state of Kuwait which hosted the consultations are making efforts to solve the problems that are hindering the consultations and peace efforts. On his part, the Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister Abdulaziz Jabbari, a member of the government delegation to the consultations told Asharq Al-Awsat that the mediators presented a number of views and proposals to address the issue of the rebels’ takeover of the “Giants Brigade” in the Harf Sufyan district, Amran governorate. These proposals necessitate “the withdrawal of the rebels from the camp and the return of the weapons that were looted”. Jabbari added that “In this case, we will be positive. However we will not negotiate with them at the table whilst they are looting the remaining weapons. This is something that we will not accept”. In a related development, the Yemeni Socialist Party, which is the third largest party in Yemen, announced its support for the presidency of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and a high-ranking delegation formed from some of its leaders arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh to join legitimacy. According to observers, this move is considered a requirement for the party to sever its ties with the rebels in Sana’a after a number of its leaders and members joined militias.

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Arabia

Saleh demands 50 percent representation in dialogue

2012-11-27

[Yemen Post] The former Yemeni president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... told the UN Envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar that the General People Congress will not accept less than 50 percent representation in the National Dialogue Conference, a Yemeni newspaper, Akhbar Alyawam, reported. The newspaper said that representatives of the GPC met on Sunday with Saleh and he ordered them to inform Benomar that they refuse representation of less than 50 percent. Members of the Technical Dialogue Committee had agreed to mandate Benomar to set the representation percentages of those who will take part in the dialogue. Yemeni politicians accuse Saleh of attempting to impede the political settlement, and provoke tensions. Media sources affirmed that Saleh attacked the deputy chairman of the GPC Abdul-Karim al-Eryani and accused him of operating to exclude him from the party. International and regional actors exerted efforts to persuade Saleh to abandon politics, but Saleh is still determined to involve in politics. Leaders of the Joint Meeting Parties (the JMP) have stressed that the JMP has a firm stance towards Saleh's abandonment of politics, pointing out that Saleh was granted the immunity in return for giving up politics. The JMP frequently charge Saleh with intervention in tasks of the interim government and seeking to disrupt its performances. Yemeni senior politicians including Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party Yaseen Saeed Noaman and Secretary General of the Nasserist Unionist People's Organization Sultan al-Atwani demanded Salehto leave Yemen

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Arabia

JMP spokesman: Saleh must abandon politics

2012-11-15

[Yemen Post] A front man of the Joint Meeting Parties (the JMP) has stressed that the JMP has a firm stance towards Saleh's abandonment of politics, pointing out that Saleh was granted the immunity in return for giving up politics. Naif Al-Qanis said the states that adopted the GCC-drawn power transfer deal verbally pledged to force Saleh to give up politics, indicating that the JMP is surprised as they have not fulfill their promises. Al-Qanis revealed that the JMP will meet with the UN Envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar to discuss the preparations for the national dialogue conference. He spelt out that they will present Benomar several proposals to pave the way for the dialogue, pointing out that among these proposals are forcing Saleh to throw out politics, ending the division of the army and issuance of the transitional justice law. He further singled out that the JMP accepted granting Saleh immunity to avoid any conflicts. The JMP is frequently charge Saleh with intervention in tasks of the interim government and seeking to disrupt its performances. Yemeni senior politicians including Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party Yaseen Saeed Noaman and Secretary General of the Nasserist Unionist People's Organization Sultan al-Atwani demanded Salehto leave Yemen. Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years, stepped down in November under a power-transfer deal that was brokered by the GCC and backed by the West after the unrest. Benomar arrived in Sana'a on Monday nights in an attempt to persuade Yemeni factions to take part in dialogue conference that is set to be held in late November.

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Arabia

Al-Fadhali appeals to lift his siege

2012-11-10

[Yemen Post] A tribal leader and a former jihadist in Afghanistan, Tariq Al-Fadhali, has appealed to lift a siege laid to him by fighters of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in Abyan. ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... Al-Fadhali told Al-Masdar Online that the siege resulted in suffering to his family, dubbing it as illegal. He reiterated that fighters of the Popular Resistance Committees still surround his home, appealing to help him bring food and medicine to his family. Sources of PRC told Al-Masdar Online that al-Fadhali is still under the siege and that they will allow a doctor to go to al-Fadhali's house. Fighters of PRC have been surrounding al-Fadhali inside his home since last Monday and accusing him of affiliation to Al-Qaeda. A tribal leader of Abyan, Tariq Al-Fadhali, was given a 24 ultimatum to surrender himself after fighters of the Popular Resistance Committees encircled him inside his house in Zinjibar of Abyan. Al-Fadhali who returned to Zinjibar on Monday after military commanders helped him to come back insisted that he would not surrender himself. He had left Zinjibar of Abya after festivities escalated between the army and al-Qaeda cut-throats in last June. Military sources said that the commander of the 115th brigade was suspended on ground of allowing al-Fadhali to return to Abyan. Al-Fadhali, who is a son of a former sultan of Abyan, is accused of inciting against leaders and cadres of the Yemeni Socialist Party. The General Secretariat of YSP had dubbed him as al-Qaeda terrorist and asking the authorities to swiftly arrest and prosecute him.

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Arabia

Fighters of PRC enclose tribal leader of Abyan

2012-11-07

[Yemen Post] Fighters of the Popular Resistance Committees have been enclosing Tariq al-Fadhali inside his house in Zinjbar of Abyan governorates since Monday, local sources affirmed. The sources said Al-Fadhali, a son of a former sultan of Abyan, escorted by hundreds of armed men returned on Monday to Zinjibar, pointing out that his escorts carried different kinds of weapons. Security officials told Almasdar Online that the security authorities in Abyan called al-Fadhali to surrender himself to the authorities after one day of a strict blockade imposed against his residency. Local sources said that the security committee of Abyan presided over by the governor Jamal Al-Aqel met on Tuesday and called al-Fadhali to surrender himself to avoid any bloodshed. The sources said that al-Fadhali is wanted by justice authorities after the Attorney General ordered in September to arrest him after due to his incitement against the Yemeni Social Party and its leaders. The committee denounced the" collusion" of some military commanders who allowed al-Fadhali to return to Zinjbar and held them responsible to any consequences, the sources added. PRC alleges that al-Fadhali supported Ansar Al-Sharia, an al-Qaeda-linked group, that captured some districts of Abyan last year before the military backed by PRC cleansed its militants. Al-Fadhali had left Zinjibar of Abya after clashes escalated between the army and al-Qaeda militants in last June. The General Secretariat of the Yemeni Socialist Party has accused Tariq Al-Fadhali of plotting to kill its leaders and cadres, dubbing him as al-Qaeda terrorist and asking the authorities to swiftly arrest and prosecute him.

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Arabia

Saleh to leave for US

2012-10-15

[Yemen Post] A big shot of the General People Congress Sultan al-Barakani has revealed that the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... will leave for the United States after Eid al-Adha, a religious Moslem holiday. Al-Barakani who is among the most loyal politician to Saleh affirmed that Saleh will undergo two surgeries in the United States and back to Yemen, denying that Saleh will stay in any state for preeminent residency. In remarks to the Kuwaiti al-Syasya newspaper, Al-Barakani strongly slammed those who ask to revoke Saleh's immunity, affirming that it is impossible to cancel it. Yemeni senior politicians including Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party Yaseen Saeed Noaman and Secretary General of the Nasserist Unionist People's Organization Sultan al-Atwani demanded Saleh, during the few past days, to leave Yemen. Saleh is frequently charged with intervention in tasks of the interim government and seeking to disrupt its performances. Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter awoke groggily, his hand still stuck in the Ming vase... the German Embassy in Yemen has denied reports that Germany accepted the hosting Saleh, the Akhbar Alyoum newspaper reported on Wednesday quoting a front man for the German Embassy in Sana'a. "The position of Germany on this issue is firm...Germany has not decided to give Saleh a visa or to host him," the front man added. Yemeni media sources said that President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi discussed the issue of Saleh's departure during his first overseas trip to Europe, the US and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...

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Arabia

YSP calls for arresting southern tribal leader

2012-09-30

[Yemen Post] The General Secretariat of the Yemeni Socialist Party has accused Tariq Al-Fadhali of plotting to kill its leaders and cadres, affirming that it notified Yemen's Attorney General about comments of Tareq Al-Fadhali in which he incited against the YSP. Sources of the YSP said that al-Fadhali, who is a southern tribal leader and a son of a former Sultan of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... , described the party as a cancer that must be eradicated. The YSP, which was the ruling party in South Yemen before unification in 1990, dubbed al-Fadhali, one of fighters the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, as al-Qaeda terrorist, asking the authorities to swiftly arrest and prosecute him. The YSP's General Secretariat considered his comments as a crime, calling all local and international organizations to move to foil al-Fadhali's threats. In the early 1990s, as the Soviet Union broke apart, North and South Yemen unified, Al-Fadhli returned home to begin the long process of recovering his family's ancestral land holdings in Abyan Province. Media sources say that over 150 of YSP were killed during the crisis between the General People Congress led by the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... and YSP. YSP accused GPC of supporting jihadists coming back from Afghanistan of killing its leaders. Yemen witnesses a state of loose security as a number of military and security commanders were killed. A number of Yemeni political including the secretary general of the YSP and government ministers were subjected to liquidation attempts.

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Arabia

Southern leader survives assassination attempt

2012-09-10

A senior southern leader, Mohammad Ali Ahmed, survived on Monday an liquidation attempt in Al-Mukla city of Hadhramout governorate. An explosive exploded at the vehicle of Ahmed while he was outside his car in Hadhramout. Ahmed is considered among the prominent southern leaders, and he spent about 18 years in exile. He stated after his return home early of the current year that he came back to struggle for the sake of the southern independence. Yemeni officials including Deputy Chairman of the Political Security Nasser Hadi, the former Interior Minister Hussein Arab, Deputy Governor of Aden Hassan Al-Darab and other officials welcomed Ahmed in Aden Airport. Ahmed served as a governor of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... , and as interior minister before the Yemeni unification in 1990. No side grabbed credit for the liquidation attempt, but some southern leaders accuse Ali Salem Al-Beidh of standing behind the bombing. Yemen witnesses a state of insecurity in the capital Sana'a and other major cities as Yemeni senior military and security official were assassinated, and other politicians were targeted during the past few months. Security officials said that the authorities foiled many plans to carry out terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda in the capital Sana'a, affirming that seized 40 belts packed with explosives. Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party Yaseen Saeed Noaman survived an liquidation attempt in Sana'a last week two days after the Transportation Minister Waeed Bazeeb survived liquidation in the port city of Aden.

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Arabia

97 soldiers accused of attacking Yemeni ministries

2012-08-30

[Yemen Post] A front man of the Military Committee formed under the GCC-mediated power deal has revealed that 97 soldiers are accused of attacking ministries of defense and interior. General Ali Saeed Obaid affirmed that the 62 soldiers were referred to the military judiciary while the other 35 are still being investigated. Obaid affirmed that the committee could achieve important steps in the field of security and stability, pointing out that gangs started to set up illegal checkpoints in some streets of the capital Sana'a and wear military uniforms. He affirmed that the committee will hunt the gangs and arrest them, denouncing, in the meantime, the liquidation attempt against Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party Yaseen Saeed Noman. Noaman survived an liquidation attempt two days after the Transportation Minister Waeed Bazeeb survived liquidation in the port city of Aden. The Yemeni capital, Sana'a, has witnessed a state of loose security as crimes of killing and weapon carrying increased after a year of pro-democracy protests that swept the country. The Interior Ministry has declared a ban on weapons carrying inside cities, but gunnies are still seen roaming with AK-47 assault rifles, hunting rifles and pistols inside Sana'a streets. Though Yemenis live on less than two dollars a day, Yemen has the second most heavily armed population in the world, unofficial statistics say. An average civilian casualty rate of about 4000 people per year due to gun violence, the statics say. Yemen's interior ministry estimates there are about 60 million firearms in Yemen, or about three for every citizen. Government efforts to take weapons out of peoples' hands have been unsuccessful.

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Arabia

Noaman cautions against insecurity in Aden, Taiz

2012-08-02

[Yemen Post] Secretary-General of the Yemeni Socialist Party Yaseen Saeed Noaman cautioned against insecurity in the southern governorate of Aden and Taiz, pointing out that supporters of the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... seek to stir up turmoil in these major cities. In an interview with Hadith Al-Madinah Newspaper, Noaman said that the Joint Meeting Parties approved supporting of Taiz governor and help him remove all armed manifestations. Taiz has been a source of pro-democracy uprising that ended 33-year rule of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Security forces often responded with deadly force. He stressed that there is calculated plans to plunge Aden and Taiz into violence and break down the political settlement, singling out that security situation in Taiz are tense. He said that some forces seek to punish Taiz because it rebelled against the former regime, calling all people to stand against attempts of destabilizing Taiz. He affirmed that President Abdurabu Mansour Hadi ...the second and possibly the last president of Yemen, successor to former President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... faces complicated issues, asserting that he managed to realize many things. Yemen witnesses a state of insecurity in Sana'a and other major cities. On Tuesday, gunnies affiliated to the former president carried out an attack against the Interior Ministry in which a number of its guards were killed and maimed. The gunnies loyal to Saleh remained in control of the building hours after they stormed it. They also controlled nearby streets. Witnesses said the headquarters of the ministry was looted, with people walking out with computer sets and furniture with little interference from security.

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Arabia

Yemeni journalists attacked; newspaper harassed

2012-05-05

[Yemen Post] The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a series of anti-press attacks in Yemen over the past 10 days that have included assaults on two journalists, threats against two more, and the official harassment of a local newspaper. "Yemeni journalists of all types have been attacked and threatened in recent days," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "Authorities have a duty to enforce the law and bring an immediate end to these tactics designed to intimidate the press into silence." Anwar al-Bahri, a news hound for the official Saba news agency, was beaten by faceless myrmidons who stormed into his home in the capital, Sana'a, on Monday, the agency reported. News accounts reported that the attackers belonged to Yemen's most influential tribal group, the al-Ahmar family. Al-Bahri was beaten in front of his wife and children and was treated for unspecified injuries at a local hospital, news reports said. Wael al-Absi, a journalist for the news website Aleshteraki, was photographing a protest in Freedom Square in Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, on April 24 when an unidentified man assaulted him, according to his employer. News accounts reported that the assailant was aligned with the security forces that oversee Freedom Square. Aleshteraki is affiliated with the Yemeni Socialist Party. Al-Absi was treated for head and eye injuries at a local hospital, news reports said. On the same day, two journalists received threatening calls, according to news reports. An unidentified man called Fathi Abu al-Nasr, a journalist who contributes to several Yemeni news publications, and told him he'd be killed if he didn't stop writing, according to news reports. The journalist, who has written in support of the revolution, is also critical of the Iranian catspaws known as the Huthis in the northern Saada region, news reports said. An unidentified man called Abdelqadir al-Mansoub, the head of the office of the news website Hshd in the city of Al-Hudaydah, and told him to be careful about his coverage of alleged corruption involving a local oil company, according to news reports. The caller said that if anything happened to al-Mansoub, it would be the journalist's own fault. The son of former President Ali Abdallah Saleh has also launched a campaign of harassment against a local newspaper. The weekly Al-Ahali reported on Tuesday that the office of Republican Guard Commander Ahmed Ali Abdallah Saleh had released a statement saying the paper had spied on military camps and cooperated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsulaand that the paper's staff should be prosecuted in military courts. Several local news websites loyal to Saleh also republished the story, according to news reports. Al-Ahali had published an article on April 23 that said the commander had four Apachehelicopters in a military camp in the village of Sanhan, the former president's birthplace. The paper, which is affiliated with the leading opposition Islah party, has long been a critic of the Yemeni government and the military. Al-Ahali has been attacked in the past. In April 2011, thousands of copies of the newspaper were confiscated, and in 2009, the Yemeni government barred the sale of the newspaper for a time, CPJ research shows. CPJ documented a stream of attacks against journalists in Yemen since political unrest erupted last year, including deaths, physical assaults, detentions, harassments, and attacks on news outlets.

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Arabia

Noman: Hadi's decrees must be respected

2012-05-03

[Yemen Post] Yassin Saeed Noman, the secretary general of the Yemeni Socialist Party said that Hadi's decrees must be respected and obeyed by everyone without procrastination or delay.His comments came in his meeting with the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... envoy to Yemen Jamal Bin Omar.At the meeting, they reviewed a range of issues on the Yemeni political arena, especially the obstacles currently facing the GCC-brokered power transfer deal singed in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in Nov. last year.Noman stressed that the timed mechanism of the GCC-deal must be implemented in a timely manner and step by step.He referred to the sensitivity and delicacy of the current situation in Yemen, calling on all sides to exert great efforts in order to make the signed accord a success.With regards to the upcoming National Dialogue, Noman stressed the need for paving the way for it through fostering a conductive atmosphere.Media reports said today that the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates.... Movement announced that it would abstain from participating in the forthcoming dialogue and considered it an American agenda.

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