Sana’a: Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi has sacked the military chiefs of two regions following sweeping advances by Al Houthi rebels and a surge in Al Qaida attacks, state media reported on Sunday.
Major General Mohammad Al Makdishi, who headed the sixth military command based in the northern city of Amran overrun by Al Houthi rebels, was sacked on Saturday, Saba news agency said.
Hadi appointed Brigadier Mohammad Al Hawry to the post.
The capture of Amran, just 50 kilometres north of Sana’a, threatened a federalisation plan that was agreed in February following national talks as part of a political transition.
The rebels, also known as Ansar Allah, have complained for years of marginalisation, and say the transition plan would divide Yemen into rich and poor regions.
In February they advanced from their mountain strongholds in the remote north towards the capital, battling loyalist troops and pro-government tribesmen.
Al Houthi rebels said on Saturday they agreed to pull out from the city after striking a deal with the defence ministry allowing troops back into Amran.
Hadi also sacked Brigadier-General Mohammad Al Somali, who headed the first military command in charge of the southeastern Hadramaut province, where Al Qaida militants are active.
He appointed Brigadier Abdul Rahman Al Halili as a chief of the region that has seen a rise in Al Qaida attacks on security forces, including brazen attacks in Sayun.
In late June militants briefly seized Sayun airport in Hadramaut and targeted a military headquarters with a car bomb.
On May 24, militants launched a massive pre-dawn assault, attacking police and army bases and public buildings in Sayun with suicide bombers, rocket-launchers and heavy machineguns.
The assault killed 15 soldiers and police. Twelve militants also died, three of them suicide bombers.
Sayun is the main town in the Hadramaut valley, a jihadist stronghold in the province’s interior.
Hadramaut’s rugged terrain provides hideouts for militants of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, considered by Washington as the jihadist network’s most dangerous affiliate.
AFP
