Islamic State for Al Qaeda, and Sa’ada for Al Houthi rebels in Yemen

By Nasser Arrabyee/30/03/2011

*Al Qaeda declares Abyan Islamic State and ban women from going out
*Al Houthi wants money for his people in Sa’ada after government disappeared

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) declared Wednesday an Islamic State in one of the Yemeni provinces after full control of its parts.

An internet statement attributed to AQAP, said that the southern province of Abyan has become an Islamic Emirate and should be governed by the Islamic Shariah.
The statement of AQAP called the women in Abyan province (their Islamic Emirate) not to go out at all without necessary needs.

“And she who urgently needs to go out, should be with one of her male relatives, and should have ID with her,” the statement said.

Earlier in the week, militants of Al Qaeda controlled the local broadcasting and the local government buildings and a factory of ammunition in the district of Ja’ar of the province of Abyan. More than 150 local people were killed while looting the factory of ammunition in Ja’ar, a remote and mountainous area where Jihadists activity has been increasing and decreasing since early 1990s.

The serious threat of Al Qaeda in Yemen is always confused with the exaggeration of the government officials and belittling of the opposition.

Both sides try to exploit Al Qaeda for their interest in their political wrangles and Al Qaeda is exploiting both of them to increase and expand.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Shiite rebels in Sa’ada north of the country, Abdul Malik Al Houthi, said that the money of the local central bank of Sa’ada was taken by the governor who quitted last week and returned to Sana’a.

Al Houthi denied Wednesday the reports that he had appointed a governor for Sa’ada instead of the one fled because of the unrest.

Al Houthi rebels have been controlling almost all the province of Sa’ada during the 6-year old on-and off war with the government troops, but the city of Sa’ada, the capital of his province, was always under the control of the central government.

But last week, as the country’s unrest worsened, the President Saleh-appointed governor of Sa’ada, Taha Hajer, quitted and returned to Sana’a.

Al Houthi said in his statement, “ We have not appointed any one as a governor, we have not appointed Fares Mana’a as a governor, we want to topple the regime not to appoint people from it.”

The statement said the soldiers of the state are still safeguarding the buildings of the government compound and security check points are still deployed.

“But the people are complaining from not having received their salaries because the governor took the money from the local central bank of Sa’ada and returned to Sana’a,” Al Houthi said in his statement.

Last week, local people from Sa’ada said that the most famous Yemeni weapon trader, Fares Mana’a declared himself a governor for Sa’ada in presence of representatives from Al Houthi and from the defected army general Ali Muhsen, who was always the commander of the war with Al Houthi since 2004.

Like his close friend general Ali Muhsen, Fares Mana’a declared his support for the “peaceful popular revolution” against President Saleh before he went to govern his province of Sa’ada last week.