Yemen's ruling party, opposition discuss military council

Fresh clashes have erupted between troops and tribal rebels in south Yemen Sanaa – Khaled Haroji with Agencies Shi'ite Muslim fighters rebelling in a northern province of Yemen along the Saudi border attacked Sunni Islamists whom they have fought over the last week, wounding at least 26, officials have said.
A group of Yemeni Salafis - Sunnis who hold a puritanical creed with followers in Saudi Arabia - said fighters from the rebel Shi'ite Houthi movement attacked early Wednesday in Damaj, 150 km (90 miles) north of the capital Sanaa.
The official, Abu Ismail, spoke by telephone to Reuters with explosions audible in the background, and said several students of the town's Dar al-Hadith religious school had been injured in shelling. His group said at least 25 people were killed in Houthi shelling in the region Saturday and Sunday
Fresh fighting also broke out Wednesday morning between Yemeni government troops and opposition tribal rebels in the southern province of Taez. Artillery and heavy machine-gunfire rocked the area, some 200 km south of Sanaa where rival forces also were seen stepping up barricades.
There were no official reports on casualties among each side, but witnesses said dozens of residents were wounded as the four- hour-long random shelling destroyed scores of houses.
Taez is a hotbed of the 10-month-long protest movement calling for ousting and prosecuting 33-year-ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Members of a secessionist movement who want to undo the territorial union that Saleh presided over in 1990 marched through the southern port of Aden Wednesday, carrying flags of the former South Yemen, a socialist republic.
The march, which commemorated the 44th anniversary of the south's independence from Britain, reflected the resentment many southerners feel over the region's treatment under union, which erupted into civil war in 1994.
Elsewhere in the south, security officials said a police commander survived an assassination attempt by gunmen who opened fire on a police vehicle in Khor Maksar, east of Aden, when militants opened fire on a police vehicle, killing two soldiers.
Tens of thousands have been displaced from the southern Abyan province due to fighting between Islamists who have seized chunks of territory and Yemeni forces, in addition to those displaced by the fighting in the north, which peaked in 2009.
Nearly a year of political turmoil over Saleh's fate has deepened the poverty of the resource-strapped country, where a U.N. official said Tuesday that millions of people were facing a humanitarian crisis.
Saleh on November 23 signed the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) deal in Riyadh and transferred power to his deputy Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi in return for immunity from prosecution.
In line with the deal, Hadi nominated opposition coalition leader Mohamed Basindwa to form a new national interim government with equal seats from the opposition and the ruling party.
Basindwa said on Tuesday he will announce his cabinet within days, as ruling party officials said Hadi is working to consensually form a military and security committee to reconstruct post-Saleh army and security units, as well as to remove the military presence of rival forces from Sanaa and other cities.
However, rival forces through their media started to trade accusations of "military escalation" and blame others for seeking to breach the power-transfer deal.
Sources in the Yemeni opposition revealed that the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) party, and opposition parties in the Joint Meeting bloc were in talks regarding the formation of a military commission. The meetings, headed by acting President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, are debating on the commission which was one of the stipulations of the Gulf-brokered peace deal. The committee is supposed to calm the volatile situation in the country and end divisions between military and security institutions.
The commission, which is to be set up within 48 hours, is also reponsible to remove barricades and security checkpoints deployed in Yemeni cities, particularly in capital Sanaa.
The military commission will also hold the task of ending the division in the two security and military institutions, between supporters of the peaceful youth revolution, and the loyalists of President Saleh. The considerably important task of restructuring of the army and police will be implemented in two phases, and completed before parliamentary and presidential elections.
The restructuring of the army and police is to be done on a purely nationalistic basis so as to remove the influence of Saleh and his associates on the country's security forces gradually over nearly two years.
Sources also said the two sides (the ruling party and the opposition) were currently holding internal discussions to set the criteria and conditions for membership in the anticipated government. The sources also confirmed that the places of the JMP bloc and the National Council of the forces of the peaceful youth revolution depended on the standards of competence and integrity in the selection of ministers regardless of their affiliations, stressing that it would be away from a "quota system" and based on merit.
Sources explained that after the talks, one of the two sides will put the two lists defined in the peace plan, in which the ministerial portfolios will be distributed, to choose one for themselves and the other for the other side, so that each side will nominate the right persons for the ministries and the positions would be equally divided between the two parties.
The UN Security Council stressed the need to conduct trials for all officials responsible of human rights violations in Yemen. In its session, which was held on Tuesday to discuss the commitment of parties of Yemen in implementing Council resolution No. 2014, the UNSC urged all parties to facilitate humanitarian access and work with the United Nations and the international community as well as the GCC to achieve permanent peace and stability in the country.
The Council also insisted timetable specified in the agreement be followed through, including the formation of a government of national consensus and holding presidential elections within 90 days, conducting a national dialogue, amending the Constitution and developing a reform programme to address the humanitarian, economic, security challenges facing Yemen.
Meanwhile, the UN deputy human rights chief has wanred of an escalating humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
After a four-day mission to the country, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Catherine Bragg, warned on Wednesday that millions of Yemenis are facing a severe and worsening humanitarian crisis.
“I remain deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Yemen,” said Ms Bragg. “We are seeing chronic deprivation made worse by continuing violence, with some of the world’s highest malnutrition rates, a breakdown of essential services and a looming health crisis.” In Yemen today, millions of vulnerable people are now in acute need, not only those who are directly affected by the conflict or displacement.
While in Yemen, Ms. Bragg met with Government and humanitarian partners in Sanaa, and travelled to Aden in the south, and Haradh in the north.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting in Abyan Governorate and most have found refuge with host families or are living in school buildings in Aden and neighbouring governorates. “I impressed upon the local authorities the need to find durable solutions for IDPs living in schools and ensure humanitarian actors have access to all areas where civilians are being displaced,” underscored Ms. Bragg.
In northern Yemen, where some 300,000 people remain displaced by the conflict in Sa’ada, the ASG met families living in Al-Mazrak camp and visited a supplementary feeding centre. Many of these people are unable to return to their homes because of insecurity, fears of retaliation, and loss of livelihoods and assets.
“I call on the Yemeni authorities and others involved in the conflict to respect their obligations. They must protect civilians and ensure their access to basic services. We cannot risk the situation becoming a catastrophe,” stressed Ms. Bragg.