SANA'A: Yemen's president, Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, addressed the nation on Saturday for the first time since he took office back in February 21st, vowing to relentlessly “crush the al-Qaeda advances and to return all controlled territories back to the government.” The speech comes amid new fears that as special UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar, who so eloquently put it, “the worst has yet to come for Yemen as political dissensions and an economic troubles are putting much pressure on Yemenis.” President Hadi, who chose to deliver his speech at Sana'a Military Academy, wanted to assert his position as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and clearly prove that if anyone was in charge of the country's military future it was him,” said an official. And indeed, in his speech the president clearly warned that any person or group that will challenge his authority and, or his decrees would be dealt with according to the law, as he would not tolerate any further obstructions to progress. The remark, which all understood as a message to former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was a breakaway from Hadi's usual mediating tone. “We all know that the talk about the stability and security of any nation will be meaningless without a unified, strong and qualified army. Using my authority, which is backed by popular legitimacy, I would like to emphasize that I will not allow the continuity of army division.” Defiant to the threat of terrorism, Hadi said, “I would like to tell those terrorists who distorted the glorious image of Islam that the real battle hasn't begun yet and will only end when we clear all districts, villages, displaced people return home and when the members of the terrorist organization lay down their arms and renounce violence.”
