SANA'A – Yemen's military prosecutors say a military tribunal has sentenced 93 soldiers and officers of the elite Republican Guard to 3-7 years prison for resisting authorities and mutiny for trying to occupy the Defense Ministry in August. A statement Saturday by the prosecution office said the accused took part in the attack by firing at the ministry's guards. The ensuing firefight left one attacker, two ministry guards and two civilians dead. Judge Abdulmalik Ali Rashid Al-Arshi convicted the men of offenses including “assaulting a defense complex in Sana'a on Aug. 14, deserting their military posts... refusing orders from the president of the republic, opening fire... resulting in murder and attempted murder,” a statement on the ministry website said. The men were given jail terms of between three to seven years, while five other Republican Guard members were acquitted, according to the ministry's statement. The convicted soldiers belong to Republican Guard units led by Brigadier General Ahmed Saleh, son of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. They were protesting a decree issued by President Abedrabbuh Mansour Hadi that put some of the force's units under presidential oversight. The decree was part of Hadi's moves to restructure the army and purge it of former regime loyalists. On Tuesday, Brigadier General Ahmed Saleh refused orders to hand over long-range missiles to the Defense Ministry, raising fears of a showdown that threatens a fragile transition agreed in February. The Republican Guard, the best-equipped of Yemen's military units, is seen as important in efforts to contain Al-Qaeda that took over towns in the south. – Agencies
