Yemen shakes up military

By Mohammed Jamjoon

A number of relatives of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh were replaced Friday in a major shakeup of the military, though two prominent members of his family remained in powerful military posts.

Friday's moves were announced in a statement by a spokesman for the Yemen Embassy in Washington and attributed to the current president, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.

"President Hadi promised major change in the military, and tonight that promise was delivered," said Mohammed Albasha, the embassy spokesman. "This is the biggest military shakeup in modern Yemen history."

The changes did not affect Ahmed Saleh, who is the former president's son and head of Republican Guard, nor did they affect Yahya Saleh, the former president's nephew and head of Central Security Forces.

Anti-government demonstrators had demanded last year that all of the former president's relatives be replaced.

Friday's announcement followed an attack by militants on a military base last month, which killed 70 soldiers.

Protesters had taken to the streets in mass demonstrations over the past year, calling for Saleh's departure from office. He finally stepped down in February in exchange for immunity in part of a power-transfer deal brokered by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

However, he remained president of the ruling General People's Congress party.

Tension has escalated between Saleh and the new regime after the new president said he was planning major reforms.

Saleh had threatened to withdraw all members of his party from the national government to protest the way Hadi's administration is dealing with the political crisis in the country, embroiled in discord and violence.

CNN's Elise Labott contributed to this report.