Saturday, April 7, 2012

Yemen air force denies closing airport


By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A, April 7, 2012- Yemen’s air force commander, General Mohamed Saleh al-Ahmar, denied allegations on Saturday that his troops prevented all air traffic movement at Sana’a International Airport and that he had ordered the destruction of one of the towers.
In a statement posted on the Internet he said that gunmen, who belong to Bani Al-Hareth tribe, launched an assault against the airport as they sought to force the government into compensating them, after several parcels of land were requisitioned to build the country’s next international airport.
 “We don’t have any intentions of stopping all flights at Sana’a airport,” the statement read.
Earlier Saturday morning, local news websites reported that gunmen loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked the country’s main airport with mortars, as a result of the threat all flights were canceled.

Yemen Parliament unanimously rejects government resolution to raise the rate of diesel


07/04/2012- YemenOnline
Yemen's parliament unanimously rejected Saturday the government's resolution to raise the price of diesel to 100% of its current price of YR 1000.
Yemeni economic analysts criticized the government decision as it would result to negative impact and repercussions on the prices of food and essential consumer goods which means more suffering of Yemeni citizens.
Other economists supported the decision as a solution to reduce the black market in Yemen. The diesel is not available in the gas station But you can find it easily in black market , but  with a high rate that may up to YR 150 per liter, more than the new price set by the government ' Jamal al-Awadhi said to YemenOnline.

GCC Chief Voices Support for Yemeni President

Riyadh, April 7. (BNA) – Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani has voiced the GCC states' full-fledged support for the steps taken by the Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to help his overcome the current situation, in line with the GCC peace initiative in Yemen.
Dr. Al ZAyani expressed confidence that brotherly Yemeni, led by an elected President and a national consensus government, is capable of overcoming the on-going crisis and addressing all the political, security and economic problems in order to meet the aspirations of the Yemeni people.
The GCC Chief also called upon all political groups in Yemen to back President Hadi so as to start implementing the development programmes in their country.

Separatists hack Yemen news agency site


(AFP)
7 April 2012
SANAA — Southern separatists hacked the website of Yemen’s official Saba news agency on Saturday, posting a portrait of Ali Salem al-Baid, the prominent exiled south Yemen leader.
The home page of the sabanews.net website was replaced by one showing flags of South Yemen and messages glorifying the former country, which merged with the north in 1990.
 “We will stamp on all those who ignore the people of the south,” said one message, while others threatened to hack or even bring down other websites of the central government in Sanaa.
Baid, who was vice president of Yemen when he declared independence in 1994, went into exile two months later when northern troops entered Aden.
Many residents of south Yemen, which was independent from 1967 when the British withdrew until it was united with the north in 1990, complain of discrimination by the Sanaa government in the distribution of resources.

Yemen airport closed after threat by forces loyal to fired commander

By Fatik al-Rodaini
SANA'A, April 7, 2012- Close sources told Bikyamasr.com that Yemen's main airport in Sana'a was closed on Saturday by forces loyal to fired Yemen military air chief, General Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, Saleh's half brother.
Sources confirmed that the airport received threats by forces loyal to attack aircraft landing or taking off.
Meanwhile, one of two Yemeni military chiefs sacked by President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has refused to give up his post, a military source said on Saturday.
Air force chief General Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, half brother of ex-president's Ali Abdullah Saleh, refused to quit unless several senior defense ministry officials, including the minister himself, also leave, said the source.
In a message to his troops, Gen Ahmar said that the presidential decree would not be 'implemented' until Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and chief of staff Ali al-Ashwal were dismissed.
He also demanded that several members of the powerful Hashed tribe be forced into exile. The tribe backed defectors such as General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar during last year's anti-regime protests.
On Friday evening President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fired several old-regime figures and relatives of the former leader in a major shake-up of the country's military, a move meant to show he was making good on promises of reforms in the wake of his predecessor's ouster.
A statement by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi said four governors and more than a dozen military generals were sacked "to make way for new officials."
The shake-up came against the backdrop of growing concerns that Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was using the loyalists to further destabilize the turmoil-wracked country. The move also came as hundreds of thousands of Yemenis took to the streets Friday demanding that Hadi purge the military of Saleh's relatives.
Among those sacked were some of Saleh's relatives, including his half brother who was the Air Force commander, and his nephew, who headed the presidential guard. In his more than 30 years as president, Saleh had stacked key security posts with relatives and loyalists.
Hadi also sacked a brother-in-law to Saleh's daughter who had headed a lucrative oil products distribution company, which was seen as an arm of the former president's vast economic wealth.
Saleh had clung to office during last year's uprising against his rule until he eventually signed a U.S.-backed, Gulf-brokered power transfer deal and handed power over to Hadi, his deputy at the time. The deal allowed Saleh to remain as head of the ruling party and granted him immunity from prosecution in return for leaving the presidency.
In February, Hadi was rubber-stamped as president in a nationwide vote in which he was the only candidate. He vowed to fight al-Qaida, which had exploited the country's yearlong turmoil to make substantial gains in the south, and restructure the armed forces, in which Saleh's loyalists and family members held key posts.
Saleh's half brother, Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, was sacked as Air Force commander and appointed assistant defense minister, an administrative post. He was replaced by the former governor of Marib province, Najeb Ali al-Zayedi.