North-South Divide Widens in Yemen, Casting Doubt Over Unity
By: Mohammad al-Ghobari posted on Thursday, Aug 23, 2012
In the run-up to the National Dialogue Conference, set to be held next year
in Yemen, separatist groups in the South and al-Qaeda have stepped up their
confrontation with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. This comes in
conjunction with continued resistance by supporters of former President Ali
Abdullah Saleh to the completion of the process of a peaceful transition of
power.
The preparatory committee for the National Dialogue Conference has released
a final list of participants, which also includes southern factions. With
this announcement, Ahmed al-Hassani, commander of the [Yemeni] Naval Forces
and former ambassador, returned to the city of Aden,
<
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/01/08/yemens-old-regime-cedes-mili
tary-power.html> defying Hadi's authority.
Hassani had been arrested by the intelligence services at a residential
apartment and was detained for three days before being released. However,
Hassani has reiterated that it is his duty to work with former Vice
President Ali Salim el-Beidh for the "independence" of the South.
He visited wounded members of the Southern Mobility Movement [SMM] at
hospitals, accompanied by a media team and a reporter for Aden Live channel,
which is owned by Beidh and airs from the Lebanese capital Beirut with the
support of Hezbollah. He made sure to send Beidh's greetings to the wounded,
acting like an official in a state that is independent of the Yemeni
president's authority.
Visits and statements
Hassani, who participated alongside Saleh in the war against the Yemeni
Socialist Party (YSP) in 1994 as commander of the naval forces, was quoted
as saying: "The political leadership of the people of the South, represented
by President Ali Salem al-Beidh and the leaders on the ground, will not
hesitate to provide the necessary [help] to the wounded."
These developments coincide with Beidh's announcement of his intention to
return to Aden "soon," amid reports that there is a general inclination to
escalate the situation in the South before the launch of the National
Dialogue Conference. The conference is boycotted by the group led by Beidh,
which is accused of receiving financial and media support from Iran.
Political sources have warned that separatist groups may resort to armed
action if they feel that the National Dialogue Conference, which is
supported by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and permanent members of the
UN Security Council, will endorse the moderate forces in the South, led by
former Presidents Ali Nasser Mohammad and Haidar al-Attas, who both support
the establishment of a federal state .
Attacks by al-Qaeda
In the meantime,
<
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/06/what-is-the-next-step-for-
presid.html> al-Qaeda has stepped up its vengeful attacks against Hadi in
the South. A day after an attack targeting an intelligence building in the
city of Aden killed 19 security guards and employees, al-Qaeda militants
attacked the same building again. They engaged in armed clashes in the
streets of Aden, in a new attempt to storm the building and release
detainees held in its prisons.
After attacking the southern gate of the Political Security Organization
(PSO) building located next to the Aden TV building, the [al-Qaeda]
militants exchanged fire with security forces and later fled. Two explosions
were heard during the clashes, which are believed to have been bombs used by
the militants in the attack.
<
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/07/yemen-revolutionists-give-
hadi-a.html> Saleh's remnants
Amid the heightened dispute between Hadi and Beidh, the official website of
the General People's Congress (GPC), headed by Saleh, slammed the [current]
Yemeni President, and reminded him that he "was involved" in the clashes
that took place within the ranks of the YSP in the South in 1986.
After a wave of criticism over the report published on the official website
of the GPC, in which Hadi holds the position of secretary general, the
website published a statement citing a source close to the GPC, represented
by its president and founding leader. The statement said that "there is no
disagreement between Saleh and Hadi, as is being promoted by some websites
with the aim of sowing division and for political blackmail."
Gas pipeline
Gunmen believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda blew up a gas pipeline in the
area of al-Zahira in the Jardan District of the Shabwah Governorate [on
August 21]. Huge flames could be seen rising from afar. According to
experts, this attack could cause a long cessation of gas production and flow
from the operations area in Safer in the Maarib Governorate to Balhaf due to
the extent of the damages this attacked caused the Shabwah-Bayan pipeline.
Denial of shooting
A presidential source denied that the convoy of Hadi was shot at, or that he
was subjected to an assassination attempt. Yemeni websites Islam Times and
Barakish.net carried a denial by the same presidential source of reports
that have been recently circulated by news websites quoting Mareb Press,
claiming that Hadi's convoy came under fire while he was on his way to the
Presidential Palace to hold the Eid al-Fitr holiday prayers. The source said
that "what is being said by some media outlets is not true."
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Received on Thu Aug 23 2012 - 12:02:22 EDT
