SANA'A: Sources close to Yemen's presidential palace told Bikyamasr.com under cover of anonymity as the matter was classified, that President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi had very limited control over the armed forces as often his will was in contradiction with that of former President Ali Abdulla Saleh's supporters or family members. For example, over the past week alone, President Hadi is reported to have order Ahmed Ali Saleh, the Head of the Republican Guards and eldest to President Saleh to recall his troops and end the air strikes ravaging Sana'a northern villages to no avail as the latter simply went on assaulting Arhab and militants he identified as al-Qaeda fighters. And “if Hadi has no say in the Republican Guards or the Central Security Forces agenda the same could be said of the troops under General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar,” said a General posted in Hadramaut. “Hadi has a very limited level of influence within the armed forces even though he is officially Yemen's Commander in Chief. Political factions and the tribes are in control of the army. It has been the case for years anyway…but now we feel the pinch,” he added. Only last night, as tensions were running extremely high with sporadic clashes being reported in and around the capital, Sana'a, army officers said that Hadi barely avoided a violent armed confrontation in Hasaba, a northern district of Sana'a under the control of Sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar, a powerful tribal lord and leader of Yemen's Islamic faction, al-Islah. “How long can the President keep things in check? I fear we have reached a point of no-return. The economy is on free fall, armed factions are still in the streets and dialogue has hit a roadblock…where to now but war I ask you,” said Sheikh Hussein al-Shamamy.
