SANA'A – Yemen's president ordered the restructuring of some military units, aiming to curb the powers of a son of former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and stabilize a country where Saleh's legacy still looms large. The move coincided with an air strike that killed two suspected militants linked to Al-Qaeda, still a major threat to Yemen despite being driven out of its main southern strongholds by a US-backed military offensive in June. State-owned news agency Saba said late Monday that President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi issued decrees transferring the command of some units of the Republican Guards to a newly formed force called the Presidential Protective Forces under his authority. Other units from the elite Republican Guards, which is led by Brigadier General Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the ex-president's son, were placed under different regional command. The president's decrees also incorporated some army units led by dissident General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, who broke away from Saleh's forces after the protests began last year, into the new presidential force or under regional command. Ahmar welcomed the decrees and called them “brave and patriotic decisions”, Saba said, adding that the moves restore unity to the armed forces and improve discipline. Hadi, who had served as Saleh's deputy, took power in February after standing as the only candidate in a presidential election. His election came as part of a deal brokered by Yemen's Gulf neighbors to end the political upheaval. The president has vowed to unify the army. – Reuters
