Commander of the republican guard, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, plans to carry out a coup against Yemen’s transitional President, Abdrabu Mansour Hadi, after decisions that come within the restructuring of the armed forces, an official at the presidency said on Friday.
“A coup plot is on the way against Hadi by the commander Saleh and loyalists of the former president including his fired military and security chiefs,” the UAE Ittihad newspaper quoted the source, who asked not to named.
“Saleh is inciting republican guard brigades to rebel against the decisions of President Hadi and is ordering to evacuate brigades in some key cities including Taiz, Aden and Abyan to ignite chaos and insecurity,” the source continued, according to the paper.
Commander Ahmed is the elder son of the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who relinquished power under a West-backed power-transfer deal reached after the mass protests against his regime throughout 2011.
Hadi, who was elected the transition president under the deal in February, issued last week decisions including the one forming the presidential guard from four brigades from the republican guard and the defector first armored division.
Other decisions marked the first step to restructure the national forces through separating key brigades from under the leadership of the commander Saleh of the republican guard and Ali Mohsen of the first armored division.
About eight brigades from the republican guard and five brigades from the first armored division were ordered to be separated and become under new leaderships, a move that is expected to reduce the influence of the two leaders.
Shortly after the internally and externally lauded decisions, hundreds of republican guards walked on the streets firing rounds in the air and besieged the defense ministry in downtown the capital Sanaa. They were reportedly protesting Hadi’s decisions.
They lifted their protest after hours and now the ministry and the residence of Hadi are being heavily guarded.