The sources said the Yemeni military has not come under control of the
interim government led by Vice President Abdul Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Hadi was
appointed interim president when Saleh left Yemen for surgery in Saudi
Arabia on June 5, Middle East Newsline reported.
A key military commander has been identified as Saleh's son, Ahmed.
Ahmed, the president's eldest son, was said to remain in contact with the
U.S. government, which has ordered an intensification of air strikes against
suspected targets of Al Qaida.
So far, Ahmed has not issued any statements or made any appearance since
the flight of his father from Yemen. Ahmed has been commander of the
Republican Guards as well as Yemen's counter-insurgency special forces
trained by the United States.
Other members of Saleh's family have been commanders of top military
units. They include Mohammed Saleh, the president's half-brother, who heads
the air force. Over the last few weeks, the air force was used for strikes
against rebel tribes.
Another half-brother of Saleh is Brig. Gen. Ali Saleh, the military
chief of staff. Saleh's nephew, Yehya, has been commander of the Central
Security Forces, while another nephew, Tareq, commands the Special Guards.
Not all of Saleh's relatives have remained loyal to the president. The
sources said members of Saleh's tribe, particularly Brig. Gen. Ali Muhsin Al
Ahmar, have taken their units to the opposition.
"Right now, we do not know where Ahmed [Saleh's son] is," Christopher
Boucek, a researcher at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, said. "We also do not know where his cousins are."
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