U.N. envoy returning to Yemen

SANAA, Yemen, May 20 (UPI) -- U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar is returning to the capital amid mounting resentment against ex-President Ali Abdulla Saleh relatives, officials say.

Benomar -- who led negotiations that resulted in Saleh's departure from power -- has been monitoring the transition process ever since, reporting all changes to the U.N. Security Council.

The coalition government demanded his return, saying Saleh's relatives continued refusal to surrender their military positions.

Benomar is scheduled to return to the country Wednesday, Mareb Press reported.

Saleh asked Benomar to postpone the U.N. Security Council session to May 29, the Socialist Forum reported, as the deposed leader said he needed more time to plan his departure for Russia.

Benomar will attend the "Friends of Yemen" conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh Wednesday, the Aden Times reported.

It will be the 11th time Benomar is coming to Yemen since 2011 uprising.

Fighting with AQAP in Yemen left 21

By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A, May 20, 2012- Fierce clashes between pro- government tribesmen and al-Qaeda militants left 21 people on Sunday in Yemen's southern province of Abyan.

Officials said 11 al-Qaeda fighters, 4 soldiers and 6 tribal committee fighters were killed since the early hours of Sunday.

Alsahwh.net said that 11 al-Qaeda militants were killed, including senior leaders in the clashes with Yemeni troops backed by local figures.

"Yemeni army could surround the eastern front of Jaar on Sunday, pointing out that they took control on a road linking between Shabwa and Jaar,'' the website stated.

Yemeni army backed by local tribesmen conduct a large-scale military campaign against stronghold of al-Qaeda in some towns of Abyan.

The army started a two-pronged attack on the town of Jaar on Friday. It is part of a broader assault to take back Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, which has been also under al-Qaida control for more than a year.

Al-Qaida-linked fighters took advantage of Yemen's 2011 uprising to overrun a swath of territory and several towns in the south, pushing out government forces and establishing their own rule. In recent weeks, the army has launched a concerted effort to uproot the militants from their strongholds — and is closely coordinating with a small contingent of U.S. troops who are helping guide the operations from inside Yemen.

AQAP attacks American in western Yemen, kidnaps Spanish

By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A, May 20, 2012- At least three American nationals escaped apparently an assassination attempt in Yemen's western seaport of Hodeida.

According to Yemen's Interior Ministry unidentified gunmen, believed to be suspected al-Qaeda militants attacked three Americans while they were leaving the Hodeida land coast on Sunday afternoon, wounding one of them in his neck.

Al-Eshteraki website reported that Yemeni authorities in western Yemen arrested the attackers.

The website said that the American works in Hodeida as experts in the Yemeni coastal guards.

Meanwhile, a Spanish policeman who was deployed at Madrid's embassy in Yemen has gone missing, his family and Spain's foreign ministry said Sunday, with a newspaper reporting he has been kidnapped.

Antonio Cejudo, 38, went missing on Thursday, a day before he was due to arrive back in Spain for a holiday, his brother Javier Cejudo said in a statement posted on his blog.

The online edition of daily newspaper ABC said the policeman was kidnapped by an unknown group as he made his way to the airport in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in a taxi.

But Javier said its was "premature" to say his brother had been kidnapped.

"It seems unfounded to state that my brother was kidnapped by a group while he headed to the airport," he wrote on his blog.

"We don't know where he is, his mobile telephone is turned off, we can't reach him," he added via his Twitter account.

The policeman has worked at Spain's embassy in the restive Arabian Peninsula state for the past two years.

A Spanish foreign ministry official confirmed that a policeman who was deployed at the embassy was missing but did not provide details.

Spain's foreign and interior ministries were working with Yemeni authorities to locate the officer, he added.

Yemen's al-Zindani son calls for jihad

By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A, May 20, 2012- Mohammed Abdel-Mageed al-Zindany called in his page on Tweeter for jihad supporting Ansar al-Sharia in the Yemeni city of Abyan.

The son of Yemen’s Sheikh Abdel-Mageed al-Zindani, a prominent cleric and powerful tribal leader, announced jihad against American, who interfered deeply in the country.

Mohammed al-Zindany showed in his page lectures for Islamic clerics call for jihad against American and West.

Two month ago he called on his fellow Yemenis to raise the flag of Islam and wage war on the American infidels, starting with US ambassador to Yemen, Gerard Feierstein.

In a fiery verbal attack against the ambassador, al-Zindani slammed American’s interference in Yemen, accusing the Pentagon of “meddling” with the country’s internal affairs to better pursue its own agenda in the region.

Al-Zindani seems to be now stepping in his father’s footsteps as he rises against what he calls American imperialism. Sheikh Zindani, who famously figures on America’s most wanted terror list, was indicted last year by President Ali Abdullah Saleh and an arrest warrant was issued against his person.

The government has thus far failed to enact the order, with officials from al-Islah, the country’s Islamic political faction warning that they would oppose any move against one of its leaders. Heading the Islahis, Sheikh Zindani is a force to be reckoned with, and an estimated thousands hardened fighters under his direct command.

One killed and others wounded in Yemen's Sana'a

By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A- May 20, 2012- News Yemen website said that at least one person was killed and four others were wounded during an attack by unidentified armed men in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a.

The website reported that unknown gunmen open fire at the guards of the Military Hospital in the center of Sana'a, killing one and wounding four others.

According to the same source attackers were driving a vehicle when they fired at the guards of the hospital. According to observers, attacker are believed to be suspected al-Qaeda militants, who lately have threatened to carry out attacks against government troops in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a and other provinces.

Yemen Saleh insists to stay home

By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A, May 20, 2012- Close sources from Yemen ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh denied his accept to live in Russia for two years to allow the transition process to resume unhindered.

Gulf newspaper said that ex-president insists to continue playing his current role as the head of General People's Congress, refusing at the same time any call to leave the country abroad.

The newspaper reported that Saleh did not receive any offer from Russia to live there for two years.

"Ex-president support his successor decisions which targets to hold a national dialogue conference, and to restructure the army," the newspaper said.

On Saturday foreign diplomats close to the Yemeni power-transfer process said deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh had agreed to leave the country for good.

U.S.-based Yemeni politician and rights activist Muneer Moari told the Forum for Change, an online news site, that Saleh had informed U.N. officials he would depart from Yemen and allow the transition process to resume unhindered.

The move came after foreign powers in support of the Gulf Cooperation Council brokered power-transfer agreement signed by Saleh in November 2011 expressed concerns over the former regime resistance to change.

An executive order signed by U.S. President Barak Obama on Wednesday for a freeze in assets of any element road blocking the implementation of the power-transfer convinced Saleh to go, Moari told the Forum for Change.