The military committee in Yemen said Wednesday that refusing the decisions and orders of President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi is considered an act of high treason that must be faced with strict military measures according to the constitution and the service law of the armed and security forces, Saba reported.
The statement was made at a meeting a day after hundreds of republican guards, reportedly guided by the commander of the elite republican guard forces who is the elder son of the former president, and loyalists of the former regime encircled the defense ministry trying to take it over.
The move, which was described by analysts as an unsuccessful coup against the democratic change while the president and the defense minister were on foreign trips, came after Hadi issued decrees transferring some republican brigades to other military zones.
Hadi also transferred brigades from the first armored division which defected to the popular uprising last year.
The decrees marked the first step to restructure the armed forces under the West-backed power-transfer deal reached after the 2011 turmoil.
The restructuring is very crucial at a time when the country is preparing for a comprehensive national dialogue conference to address key national issues.
At its meeting, the committee urged to hunt other republican guards involved in the clashes that resulted in the killing and injuring of several soldiers and civilians. Saba said.
About 40 guards were arrested when the central security forces and the military police controlled the situation and forced the rebelling soldiers to cease their attack on the ministry in downtown the capital Sanaa.
“Such acts are irresponsible and criminalized by the law. Army leaders and offices should face all acts inciting rebellion in the military and affecting the performance of the national forces,” the committee said.
The committee listened to an explanation of the clashes around the defense ministry on Tuesday, urging to continue the investigations into them, the agency added.
In late July, soldiers, who were reportedly protesting rights, stormed the interior ministry with support from loyalists of the former regime.
Several policemen were killed and others injured and the attackers looted the ministry’s equipment. The two attacks were part of other big challenges facing the democratic transition largely backed, watched and lauded by the international community.