Yemeni Report Explores Al-Qa'ida's 'New Strategy' in Southern Yemen

Yemen has witnessed four-month-long anti-government protests that undermined security situations.

[Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in English -- China's official news service for English-language audiences (New China News Agency)]

Yemen: Gunmen Break Into Central Prison in Abyan, Release Scores of Prisoners

GMP20110529089001 Sanaa Al-Taghyir in Arabic 28 May 11

[Unattributed "exclusive" report: "Scores of Prisoners Escaped After Gunmen Broke Into the Central Prison in Abyan"]

According to information, gunmen stormed the Central Prison in the city of Zinjibar, Abyan Governorate in southern Yemen, hours after gunmen had seized control of a number of government buildings, including the Intelligence and the Central Security buildings.

Eyewitnesses said that gunmen broke today into the Central Prison and released scores of prisoners after clashes with the prison guards.

Yesterday in Zinjibar, clashes with small and heavy arms erupted between armed groups and forces from the Central Security and Public Security Services, leaving two soldiers dead and several others wounded. Also, one of President Salih's resorts was bombed when Air Force jet fighters joined the battles and shelled a number of sites which gunmen had broken into and stationed themselves. These buildings include banks which were stormed by gunmen who stole large sums of money.

Informed sources said that armed groups have taken control of most government offices in the city of Zinjibar.

Hard-line Islamic groups, believed to be affiliated with Al-Qa'ida Organization and other hard-line jihadist groups, are widely spread in Abyan Governorate. These groups have been carrying out numerous attacks in Abyan Governorate against security checkpoints since mid 2010. They have also assassinated a number of officers from the Political Security (Intelligence) Services as well as soldiers in military patrols. The gunmen in Abyan usually use motorcycles to implement swift attacks or assassinations.

The Yemeni regime has linked these groups to the Southern Mobility Movement [SMM] that is calling for "disengagement" from the Yemeni unity. However, anti-regime groups say that the regime had created these groups and is providing them with funds. They also say that the regime uses the operations carried out by these armed groups to send a message and scare the West with the idea of the spread of Al-Qa'ida and its quest to seize control of some areas in the country.

[Description of Source: Sanaa Al-Taghyir in Arabic -- Independent news website, focusing on democratic change and human rights issues, critical of government policies; URL: http://www.al-tagheer.com/index.php]

Yemen: 'Al-Qa'ida Elements' Attack Central Bank in Abyan Governorate

GMP20110528189018 Sanaa Al-Mu'tamar.net in Arabic 28 May 11

[Corrected version: adding country tag; removing smart quotes from headline, subslug; Unattributed report: "Al-Qa'ida Elements Attack the Central Bank Building in Abyan"]

Local sources in Abyan Governorate said that elements from Al-Qa'ida Organization in Yemen are currently attacking the building of Yemen's Central Bank in Zinjibar, in an attempt to storm in it and loot its contents.

The sources told Al-Mu'tamar.net that Al-Qa'ida elements are firing their medium and heavy weapons at the building's security guards and the troops of Brigade 25 Mika, which is supporting the guards in order to prevent the Al-Qa'ida elements from seizing the building.

According to the sources, Al-Qa'ida elements had attacked the buildings of the Al-Ahli Bank and the Cooperative and Agriculture Credit Bank, stormed in them, and looted the money of the depositors. The sources added that the elements set the building of Al-Ahli Bank on fire and the building is still burning until now.

These attacks occurred after sources reported that dissident Major General Ali Muhsin, commander of the First Armored Brigade, contacted leaders from Al-Qa'ida in Abyan Governorate and directed them to attack and seize governmental facilities.

[Description of Source: Sanaa Al-Mu'tamar.net in Arabic -- Website of ruling General People's Congress; URL: www.almotamar.net]

Yemen: Al-Qa'ida Says 'Jihadists' Fully Controlled Zinjibar, Abyan Governorate

GMP20110528189001 Naba News in Arabic 27 May 11

[Unattributed report: "Fierce Battles and Dozens of People Killed in Abyan and Al-Qa'ida Announces Full Control of Zinjibar"]

Since the morning of 27 May, the city of Zinjibar in Abyan Governorate is witnessing fierce battles between security forces and the elements of Al-Qa'ida Organization. The battles left dozens killed and wounded and the Al-Qa'ida elements stormed in a number of government and security institutions.

Sources said that fierce battles are raging since 0600 [ 0300 GMT] between the armed elements of Al-Qa'ida and the security and army forces in Zinjibar. These battles were described as the fiercest since the 1994 war and they resulted in the killing of five individuals; three soldiers and two citizens. Thirteen other soldiers and citizens were injured and a great number of Al-Qa'ida elements were killed and injured.

[Description of Source: Naba News in Arabic -- Pro-government news website, harshly critical of secessionist efforts and the Huthist insurgency; URL: http://www.nabanews.net]

Yemen: Abyan town of Zinjibar seized by armed men

EUP20110529960002 London BBC News Online in English 0939 GMT 29 May 11

[Collected by webscraper and Auto selected and released without editorial intervention.]

(BBC NEWS ONLINE \ MIDDLE EAST) - Armed men are reported to have taken control of a provincial capital in the unsettled south of Yemen.

He is resisting calls to step down, despite months of popular protests and growing opposition from a key tribe.

At least 124 people died in recent days in the capital, Sanaa, in clashes between government forces and fighters loyal to Hashid tribal leader Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar.

A ceasefire was eventually agreed on Saturday and a deal reached to withdraw troops from Sanaa.

Complex loyalties

Official reports emerging from Zinjibar initially suggested the town was seized by force.

The AFP news agency reported that 16 people had been killed during Friday and Saturday during fighting in and around Zinjibar.

Yemeni soldiers are frequently in action on the streets of the capital

However, other reports made no mention of violence.

"About 300 Islamic millitants and Al Qaeda men came into Zinjibar and took over everything on Friday," one resident told Reuters.

Conflicting interpretations of the loyalties of the armed men reflect the complex nature of military loyalties in Yemen.

While government officials said the men were AQAP, one analyst told the BBC they were in fact an older, more established group of fighters loyal to President Saleh and his now-rival, the defected army officer Ali Mohsen (who is also Mr Saleh's brother-in-law).

The government has blamed previous attacks in southern Yemen on al-Qaeda, but the country's opposition has accused President Saleh of stoking fears of an Islamist takeover.

AQAP is known to be active in southern Yemen, but the region is also home to a long-running separatist insurgency.

The group is described by the US as one of the world's most energetic al-Qaeda cells.

However, it usually operates from mountainous areas away from towns and cities.

Yemen is beset by problems, including dwindling oil supplies and a growing water crisis as well as grinding poverty, political unrest and the presence of al-Qaeda and separatist rebels in the south.

[Description of Source: London BBC News Online in English -- Website of the publicly-funded BBC carrying up-to-the-minute UK and international news and breaking news, politics, and analysis; URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk]

Xinhua: Al-Qaida Declares Yemen's Southern City as Capital of Its "Islamic Emirate": Residents

CPP20110528968109 Beijing Xinhua in English 1750 GMT 28 May 11

[Xinhua: "Al-Qaida Declares Yemen's Southern City as Capital of Its "Islamic Emirate": Residents"]

[Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention]

SANAA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The Yemen-based al-Qaida wing on Saturday declared the provincial capital city of southern Abyan province as the capital city of its "Islamic Emirate" in a statement the group read in front of local residents.

The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has almost taken over all parts of Abyan province after it seized the province capital city of Zinjibar on Friday, according to the residents.

A local government official told Xinhua that the "fighters of AQAP took over the whole city of Zinjibar on Friday and on Saturday the group seized 30 police cars after two police camps surrendered to AQAP."

"They (AQAP) transported the 30 police cars to the neighbor city of Jaar, which is believed to be the stronghold of the group, " he added, requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, a doctor of al-Razi Hospital in Jaar told Xinhua that the death toll among al-Qaida militants from the Friday's clashes with government forces rose to four as dozens of the militants were still suffering serious injuries.

Residents from several cities of Abyan said blackouts have hit the majority part of the province since earlier Friday.

An aid to the Abyan governor said the governor was not available to reach for security reasons.

Late on Friday, the AQAP militants gunned down five Yemeni policemen, including a high-ranking officer, hours after they took over several government buildings and two state-run banks in Abyan, according to a local security official.

Since the eruption of the four-month-long anti-government protests aimed at ousting Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, the AQAP has launched sporadic heavy attacks on Zinjibar.

[Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in English -- China's official news service for English-language audiences (New China News Agency)]

Xinhua: 2nd LD: Al-Qaida Takes Over Several Government Buildings in South Yemen: Official

CPP20110527968203 Beijing Xinhua in English 1159 GMT 27 May 11

[Xinhua: "2nd LD: Al-Qaida Takes Over Several Government Buildings in South Yemen: Official"]

[Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention]

SANAA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch on Friday took over several government buildings, including two state- run banks, in the southern province of Abyan, a provincial government official told Xinhua.

AQAP has launched many sporadic attacks on Zinjibar in an attempt to take over it since the eruption of the four-month-long anti-government protests aiming at ousting Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978.

Abyan, some 480 km south of the capital Sanaa, is a key stronghold of resurgent AQAP which has carried out frequent attacks against the Yemeni security and military personnel since 2009.

[Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in English -- China's official news service for English-language audiences (New China News Agency)]

Yemen: Al-Qa'ida Militants Reportedly Seize Control of Zinjibar, 18 Dead

GMP20110530614008 Jedda Ukaz Online in Arabic 30 May 11

[Report by Ahmad al-Shumayri from Sanaa: "Following Bloody Clashes That Left 18 Dead, 200 Al-Qa'ida Militants Seize Control of Yemen's Zinjibar"]

Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan, was seized by Al-Qa'ida militants yesterday after bloody clashes that left at least 18 dead, according to a security official and local residents, amid accusations that the government has handed over the region to the militants.

A security official in the governorate, who has left to the southern city of Aden, said that Al-Qa'ida elements "were able to seize Zinjibar, the capital of the governorate, and take control of all government installations, with the exception of the besieged 25 Mika contingent," which is under siege by the militants. The official estimated that more than 200 Al-Qa'ida militants had attacked the city.

The official admitted that "the commander of the authorities in Abyan had left the location before the situation exploded," noting that he was among the last security officers to leave Zinjibar to Aden.

In another development, the citizens in Zinjibar found the bodies of 10 soldiers who were killed in the clashes that the city witnessed between Al-Qa'ida militants and government forces on 27 and 28 May, bringing the number of those killed in the clashes to 17 soldiers and civilians at least.

[Description of Source: Jedda Ukaz Online in Arabic -- Website of largest circulation Saudi daily; often critical of Israel and US Middle East policy. URL: http://www.okaz.com.sa]

Yemen: Figures on Latest Political, Security Developments, Fall of Zanjibar

GMP20110529676007 Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic 2001 GMT 29 May 11

[For assistance with multimedia elements, contact the OSC Customer Center at (800) 205-8615 or OSCinfo@rccb.osis.gov.]

Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic at 2001 GMT on 29 May carries a 30-minute announcer-read over video report, including four exclusive interviews, on the security and political situation in Yemen. The report begins as follows: "The field hospital in Al-Hurriyah Square in the Ta'izz Governorate has reported that three persons were killed and 90 others were wounded by the bullets of security troops and the so-called thugs. It is worth noting that informed sources had told Al-Jazirah that five persons were killed and nine others were wounded in the ongoing incidents in the city of Zanjibar in the southern Governorate of Abyan after gunmen took control of the city. The army command, which joined the youth and popular revolution, accused President Ali Abdallah Salih of handing over several areas, including Zanjibar, to gunmen. In Communique No. 1, the command appealed to the international community to embrace the revolution and its demands." Then, further details updating the security situation in Yemen are provided.

Afterward, Al-Jazirah anchorperson Khadijah Bin-Qinnah, in the Doha studios, conducts live a telephone interview with Colonel Abdallah al-Hadiri, chief military prosecutor in northwestern Yemen, in Sanaa. Asked about the importance of Communique No. 1, which was issued by the army command which joined the Yemeni revolution, Al-Hadiri says: "The importance of this communique lies in the fact that it marks a historic turning point in the life of the Yemeni revolution. This is because this communique explained; and to be more accurate, pointed out that the entire military establishment has almost joined the revolution. Consequently, this regime no longer has the material and military wherewithal that would allow it to survive. This communique is a turning point. This is because it explained that all honorable sons of the military establishment joined the revolution, and that nobody has been left to support Ali Abdallah Salih except for the militias which owe exclusive allegiance to his family. He has nothing left [changes thought] I am puzzled by the fact that the president is speaking of the military establishment, and of the honorable members of the military establishment. I would like to say that the president is out of touch with reality, and that he no longer knows what is happening around him. He either does not know that the entire military establishment has joined the people's ranks, or he is ignoring this fact. Those left behind to back him are only a group of mercenaries or militiamen who joined his family, which is trying to stay in power so that it may plunder what has remained of the state's assets during the remainder of its stay in power. This communique clearly shows that the military establishment declared its allegiance to the homeland as per the provisions of Article 36 and Article 40 of the constitution."

When told that this communique carries the signatures of the commanders of only four military zones, and that there is still a military zone which owes allegiance to the president, Al-Hadiri says: "Militarily, the country is almost divided into five military zones. They are the following: The northern zone, the eastern zone, the western zone, and the central zone. These four zones have joined [the revolution]. The only zone that is yet to join the revolution is the southern zone. As a matter of fact, the troops and military units deployed in this region have actually joined the revolution. It is only the administrative command of this zone which is yet to join the revolution. It is immaterial if this command joins the revolution or fails to do so. For all the military units deployed in the southern zone have joined the revolution."

Asked why the aforesaid communique thanked incumbent officials, including the defense minister, the vice president, the prime minister, the chairman of the Consultative Council, and the political adviser to President Salih, Al-Hadiri says: "There is a group of histor ic Yemeni leaders who are still in power. However, they have taken independent stands. They are supportive of the people, of the people's will. They are supportive of the revolution, and they are trying to pressure the authority into responding favorably to the demands of the revolutionaries and the Yemeni people. It is true that these leaders are still in power. However, their national roles and their effectiveness are boosted when they remain in power, as this would enable them to influence [President] Salih's decisions," and prompt him to realize that he has to give in to the people's demands.

Immediately afterward, Al-Jazirah anchorman Al-Habib al-Ghuraybi, in the Doha studios, conducts live a satellite interview with Ali Muhammad al-Ma'mari, spokesman for the "Yemeni Parliamentary Bloc of Free Men," in Cairo.

Asked on reports that "the operation" carried out in Zanjibar was "dubious," Al-Ma'mari says: "Dear Sir, a week ago, President Ali Abdallah Salih warned of hard times ahead. At a ceremony marking the 22 May [Yemeni unity anniversary], he said that five governorates will fall into the hands of Al-Qa'ida. On happy occasions, on the Unity Day, the president is supposed to have relayed good tidings to people. However, he told Yemen that hard times lie ahead, and that governorates will fall into the hands of Al-Qa'ida. Now, he is implementing what he told us about. I cannot but support Communique No. 1, which affirmed that the president handed over Zanjibar to these people. In the official media, he says that these people are affiliated with Al-Qa'ida. However, speaking to BBC today, Tariq al-Fadli [a former leading figure in the ruling General People's Congress in Yemen and currently a leading figure in the opposition Southern Mobility Movement], said that he asked him [President Salih] to liquidate the thugs. While speaking officially, he [Salih] calls them Al-Qa'ida-affiliated people. However, he knows that they are thugs and outlaws. Those who surrendered Zanjibar and killed people there are people who are well received and well regarded at the Presidential Palace. They are the people who are best and most frequently received at the Presidential Palace. They are the people upon whom he bestows the most generous grants and gifts."

Al-Ma'mari adds: "Dear brother, killings are now taking place in Al-Hurriyah Squares in Ta'izz. For the past four hours, ongoing killings have been taking place. Five martyrs have thus far fallen. More than 100 people have been wounded in live fire attacks, 25 of whom are in critical condition. I urge doctors to rush to Al-Hurriyah Square now to save the lives of youths there. I also call upon the people of Ta'izz to quickly head to Al-Hurriyah Square now to serve as human shields and prevent the Republican Guard and Central Security Service troops from carrying out killings there. We hold Ali Abdallah Salih, his son [Ahmad], and his nephews responsible for the crimes that are currently being perpetrated in Al-Hurriyah Squares in Ta'izz. " He then appeals to the "whole world" and human rights organizations to stop "this massacre" and to pressure Ali Abdallah Salih into stopping "the crimes that are being perpetrated right now."