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| Arabia | |
| Yemen Rebels Free Defense Minister, President Brother | |
| 2015-04-23 | |
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... have released the defense minister, a brother of the exiled president and another general held since late March, a source close to mediators said Wednesday. "Defence Minister General Mahmud al-Subaihi, General Nasser Mansour Hadi (the president's brother), and (army) General Faisal Rajab have been freed," the source said. President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's brother is the intelligence deputy chief in charge of the southern provinces of Aden, Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirateafter seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... and restive Lahj ... a Yemeni governate located in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the stomping grounds on the southern secessionist al-Harak movement Mediation efforts for the trio's release were led by General Awad bin Farid, head of the military police in Ataq, capital of the southern province of Shabwa. He is known for his close ties to the Shiite Houthis who had been holding them, the source said. The trio left the Huthi-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday and were on their way towards Ataq, the source said. The move came after a Saudi-led coalition carrying out air strikes against the rebels since March 26 announced on Tuesday an end to the first phase of its operations. Observers said the trio's release appeared to be a goodwill gesture by the rebels, whose leaders have been sanctioned under a UN Security Council resolution passed this month. Subaihi escaped house arrest at the hands of the Huthis in late March but was soon seized by the rebels in Lahj. President Hadi fled to Riyadh last month and was joined by several members of his government. | |
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