SANA'A: As Yemen President Hadi is said to be planning yet more swift reforms at the heart of the military, having already dismissed by decree, General Mohamed Saleh al-Ahamr, the air force commander, former President Ali Abdulla Saleh's half-brother and Tarek Mohamed Saleh, his nephew and Commander of the Special Forces, rumors are circulating saying that Ahmed Ali Saleh, the powerful Head of the Republican Guards and Saleh's eldest son as well as rebel General Ali Mohsen al-Ahamr would be next to go. However, many within the government remain dubious as to how President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi will enforce his decisions, especially since so far none of them were implemented. We all remember last week's incidents when General Mohamed Saleh was asked to hand over the command of the air force and how Sana'a International Airport, which happens to be situated next to the base and became a pawn in a power-play, with loyalists to the regime daring the government to move against them. Despite an appearance of cooperation in Yemen's coalition government al-Islah, the country's Islamic faction and the General People's congress, Saleh's party, are battling for control, trying to undermine one another. Caught in the middle of their claws sits President Hadi, powerless to assert his will as he has no striking ability. Even though he bore the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, all Yemen knows that the army is pretty much divided in between, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and Ahmed Ali Saleh. In a statement issued by his office on Thursday evening, President Saleh announced: “Yemen will not see stability without an effective role for the leadership and the bases of the General People's Congress party;” in a clear reference to the recent round of demotions. Politicians of the opposition are now trying to pressure the international community into having Saleh leave Yemen for the remainder of the transitional period, warning that otherwise the country would never move and instead sink back in an armed conflict. “We have always said if this man remains in the country, it will be a big problem,” said Mohammed al-Sabri, an opposition spokesman. “The other problem is the international mediators who pressed the opposition to offer him immunity. They have a moral responsibility.” Bm
