Nepotism

Since coming to power as leader of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) in 1978, Ali Abdullah Saleh has balanced progress with nepotism. President Saleh’s nephews, relatives and tribesmen make up the leadership of Yemen’s military and security forces. The sense that Yemen is a family corporation that has enriched itself is part of the problem. As President Saleh has consolidated power in his family’s hands, his influence with tribal chiefs has receded. This is all a bit complicated, and not all sources are in agreement on the details. One source reports that Brigadier General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar is a half brother of president Saleh, while the New York Times reports that "Mr. Saleh and Mr. Mohsen are not related".

MILITARY
Ali Abdullah Saleh	President	Al-Gar Farm . Huge farm for fruits mainly Mango , exporting its productions to Saudi-Arabia and Gulf States Partner of Tawfiq Group for Fuel ( covering large scale of activities in the field of fuel The Economy Establishment ( previously the Military Economic Corporation)
Colonel Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh	Eldest son of the President Saleh	Commander, Republican Guards Commander, Special Forces Al-Haj Company For Heavy Equipments and Cars
Colonel Yahya Mohamed Abdullah Saleh	Nephew, son of Saleh’s brother	Commander, Security Central Forces Almass Company For Petroleum Services Ha Wi Cable Chinese Company
Colonel Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh	Nephew, son of Saleh’s brother Mohammed	Commander, Private Forces Commander, Special Guards
Colonel Amar Mohamed Abdullah Saleh	Nephew, son of Saleh’s brother Mohammed	Deputy Chairman, National Security Organization
Brigadier General Mohamed Saleh Al-Ahmar	half brother of president Saleh ( one mother )	Air Force Commander Al-Hashdi Petroleum Company
Brigadier General Ali Saleh Al-Ahmar	half brother of president Saleh	chief of staff of the general command
Brigadier General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar	half brother of president Saleh	commander, first tank division commander, Northern/Western military zone Hawan For Petroleum Services Hadwan Oil Services and Support Alraida Group for Engineering Pioneer Engenering Group
Brigadier General Mehdi Makwala	( Hashd tribe and Sanhan village of President Saleh )	commander of the southern military zone ( Aden Zone )
Brigadier General Mohammed Ali Mohsen	(Hashed Tribe and Sanhan Village of President Saleh )	Commander of the Eastern Military Zone ( Hadramout ).
Brigadier General Saleh Al-Dhaneen	( Hashed tribe and Sanhan Village of President Saleh. )	commander, Khaled Forces Raidaan Contracting Company, works in roads , districts roads, Taiz roads, and football stadium .
GOVERNMENT
Khalid Alarhabi	Son in-law, brother in-law of Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh	Deputy Chief, Presidential Palaces Yemen Space Company
Ahmed Abdullah Al-Hajry	Brother in law to second wife	Governor of Taiz
Abul-Rahman Alkwaa	Brother in law to third wife	Minster of Youth and Sports
Khalid Abdul-Rahman Alkwaa	Son of Brother in-law	Under Secretary, Foreign Ministry
Abdl-Kareem Al-Arhabi	In-law	Minister of Planning and International Co-Operation
Ahmed Al-Kuhlani	brother in-law of Saleh	Governor of Aden Pioneer Engineering Group Al-Atheer Contracting Company Gavlar Special Company
COMMERCIAL
Tawfick Saleh Abdullah Saleh	Nephew	Chairman of The National Tobacco Company
Abdul-Khalek Al-Qadi	Son in-law	Chairman of Yemenia Airways
Noman Duwaeed and Ali Ahmed Duwaeed	brother in-law to Saleh	The Yemen International United Company dealing in heavy duty equipment, manufacturing, factories of cements ,etc.
Ahmed Al-Kohlani	Father in law to President Saleh's 18 year old last bride (he has four wives)	Governor of Aden member of parliament Alraida Group for Engineering
Yahia Mohamed Abdullah Saleh	son of his brother Mohamed	Al-Maz Group ( dealing with cotton plantations, tourizm, trade of weapons and oil activities Hawai Cables Company
Abdul Salam Ghaleb Al-hamesh	son of chairman of political security	Al-Kaoon company for Communications and oil support and Services.
Ali Al-Shater		chairman of the political directorate of the armed forces and editor of the 26 September newspaper. ( his son Bassam Ali Al-Shater ) Al-Qusoor Contracting Company , dealing in contracts with ministry of defence from buildings to supply etc.
Tawfik Abdul-Raheem	Business Partner	sole distributor of Oil & Gas products
Shaher Abul-Haq Saba	Business Partner	Mobile Phones Mercedes-Benz Coca Cola Yemen International bank Oil Explorati

Thousands celebrate on the streets of Yemen as president flees country to be treated for rocket wounds in Saudi Arabia

By Daily Mail Reporter

6th June 2011

* Analysts say President Saleh is unlikely to return to Yemen

Thousands celebrated on the streets of Yemen after the country's authoritarian leader fled the country after an attack on his presidential palace.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia for urgent treatment after he was hurt in a rocket attack on a mosque in his compound in the country's capital, Sana'a.

Saudi-owned television network Al-Arabiya reported he was was undergoing surgery, but did not say for what. One of Mr Saleh's allies said the president, in his late 60s, was hit by jagged pieces of wood that splintered from the mosque pulpit when his compound was hit by a rocket on Friday.

In Sana'a protesters danced, sang and slaughtered cows to celebrate Mr Saleh's departure.

Some soldiers in their military uniforms joined those dancing and singing patriotic songs. Many in the jubilant crowd waved Yemeni flags, joyfully whistling and flashing the 'V' for victory signs.

Women in black veils joined demonstrators carrying banners that hailed Mr Saleh's departure. One read: 'The oppressor is gone, but the people stay.'

In Taiz, Yemen's second largest city, dozens of gunmen attacked the presidential palace, killing four soldiers in an attempt to storm the compound, according to military officials and witnesses.

One of the attackers was also killed in the raid, by a group set up to avenge killings of anti-regime protesters at the hands of Mr Saleh's men.

A Yemeni official said Mr Saleh had left secretly with most of his family. He said he and others had been kept in the dark about the president's plans until after he had left.

A Saudi medical team was flown to Yemen to treat the president after Friday's attack, but advised him that he needed to get specialist attention.

He was taken, along with several other senior regime leaders, including the prime minister, to be treated for injuries sustained during Friday's attack.

Mr Saleh's departure raises the spectre of a violent power grab in the impoverished country which has been shaken by months of protests calling for his ousting.

Officials said Yemen's constitution calls for the vice president to take over in the absence of the president.

Vice-president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi met with U.S. Ambassador Gerald Michael Feierstein, the strongest indication yet that he is in charge.

But the country remains gripped by a violent insurgency after formal tribal allies of Mr Saleh turned against him and transformed the streets of the capital Sana'a into a war zone.

Other forces rose against Saleh at the same time. There were high-level defections within his military, and Islamist fighters took over at least one town in the south in the past two weeks.

Mr Saleh blamed the tribal rivals for the attack on his compound that killed 11 bodyguards and wounded at least five senior government officials.

Mr Saleh had been first reported to have suffered only minor injuries to his neck after the attack. But his sudden departure to Saudi Arabia suggests that the president's injuries are worse than first thought.

Among others hurt in the attack were both prime minister Ali Muhammad Mujawar and his deputy Rashad Al-Alimi, alongside the speaker of the country's parliament.

Initial reports suggested Al-Alimi suffered serious injuries and was unconscious, while Nooman Dweid, the governor of capital city Sanaa, was the most badly hurt.

It was the first time that tribesmen have targeted President Saleh's palace in nearly two weeks of heavy fighting with government troops in the capital.

Their response came after government forces launched an intense artillery barrage at the homes of two tribal leaders and a top military general who also joined the opposition.

The abrupt departure of Mr Saleh and much of his family followed intense pressure to step down from his powerful Gulf neighbours and the U.S., a longstanding ally.

They fear the chaos could plunge the country into anarchy and undermine the U.S.-backed campaign against al-Qaida's most active branch, which operates in the country.

Yemen's unrest was inspired by the uprisings across the Arab world, which have already led to the downfall of governments in Egypt and Tunisia.

It already has cost the government control of some remote provinces, and al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and other Islamist extremists have exploited the turmoil to bolster their position in the Arab world's poorest country.

'Saleh was an inconsistent partner in the war against al Qaida,' said Rick Nelson, a counterterrorism expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

'But at least he was partner part of the time.'

Mr Saleh, who is in his late 60s, had agreed to transfer power several times, only to step back at the last moment.

His injuries have now provided him with what could turn out to be a face-saving solution to exit power.

A Yemeni official said Mr Saleh left with his two wives and some of his children. The official said he and others learned about Mr Saleh's departure plans only after the president left.

Before leaving, Mr Saleh did not issue a decree putting his vice president in charge. A terse statement from his office only said he had arrived in Saudi Arabia for medical tests and that he was in good health.

However, a Saudi medical official said his condition was 'not good'.

Significantly, military officials said vice president Hadi met late last night in Sana'a with several members of Mr Saleh's family, including his son and one-time heir apparent Ahmed, who commands the powerful presidential guard.

Others who attended the meeting included two of the president's nephews and two half brothers. All four head well-equipped and highly trained units that constitute the president's main power base in the military.

That such powerful members of Saleh's family have been left behind in Sanaa suggests that the president's departure will not necessarily end the crisis in Yemen.

But analysts said it appeared unlikely Mr Saleh would return. The Saudis, in whose care he now rests, have repeatedly tried to persuade him to step down.

Yemen President Vows to Return

By FARNAZ FASSIHI And HAKIM ALMASMARI

SAN'A, Yemen—Officials loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would return from Saudi Arabia within days, amid renewed violence in the Yemeni capital, dashing the opposition's hopes for a rapid political transition.

Mr. Saleh's sudden departure for medical treatment on Sunday, after he was wounded in an attack, raised the prospect that protesters and rival tribes had gained ground in their efforts to end his 33-year rule, after over four months of demonstrations against his regime

Mr. Saleh's supporters insisted he planned to return to his role as president after he handed power to his vice president before leaving for Riyadh.

Government spokesperson Abdu Ganadi said that Mr. Saleh would return to Yemen within days and that his health was good.

"President Saleh went on a typical medical visit. Why are people surprised that he is coming back to Yemen? Isn't he Yemeni and the constitutional president of Yemen?" Mr. Ganadi said. He said Mr. Saleh is expected to be in San'a before Friday.

Mr. Saleh handed authority to Vice President Abdul Rabu Mansoor Hadi, who ordered a halt to clashes in San'a by government and tribal forces on Sunday, and the government said it would remove its forces from areas of intense fighting.

In response, Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, the leader of the powerful Hashid tribe which has been fighting against Mr. Saleh's rule, evacuated his militia from government buildings and echoed the call for a cease-fire.

Officials in the U.S. and Europe took the opportunity to publicly press Mr. Saleh to step down.

"An immediate transition is in the best interests of the Yemeni people," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington.

Earlier on Monday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to say whether the U.S. preferred Mr. Saleh to say in Saudi Arabia. But he pointed out at a news briefing that Yemen's constitution forms a roadmap for a transition of power.

The European Union's foreignpolicy chief, Catherine Ashton said she hoped Mr. Saleh would let his country "move on," the Associated Press reported.

Violence following his departure Sunday, however, raised obstacles for the peaceful, constitutional transfer of power that the Obama administration has advocated.

The cease-fire declared after Mr. Saleh's departure proved precarious. Explosions could be heard at hourly intervals in northern San'a, while forces loyal to the departed president attacked Sheik Sadeq's militia in the neighborhood of Hasba, killing three tribesmen, according to Sheik Sadeq's office.

Sheik Sadeq didn't retaliate, saying he honored the cease-fire. If more attacks are staged against his tribe, fighting between the two rivals could resume.

"The tribes are insistent that the cease-fire continues, but the republican guards want chaos as usual to show the people that without Saleh, Yemen is not safe and clashes will take place everywhere," said Abdul Qawi Qaisi, the spokesman for Sheik Sadeq.

The Yemeni government denied that it was carrying out attacks, and said that tribes were finding excuses to spread more bloodshed.

"The international community is trying to help in ending violence in Yemen, but that would be difficult with armed gunmen in all the streets of the capital." said Zaid Thari, a senior ruling-party official.