SANAA - A powerful general who is the son of Yemen's former president has agreed to give up his missiles after his elite Republican Guard was disbanded by the Arab nation's new leader, sources at the presidency said on Thursday.
Brigadier-General Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh's apparent compliance with an armed forces shake-up ordered by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Wednesday eases fears of more turmoil in a country in the throes of a tense political transition.
The overhaul is widely seen as part of efforts to curb the still-considerable influence of Saleh's father, ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, loosen his family's grip on the military and implement an internationally-backed plan to restore stability.
Officials at Ahmed Saleh's office were not available for comment. But his father's press secretary said Hadi's decisions to restructure the armed forces were "welcomed."
After a year of protests against his rule, President Saleh made way for Hadi in February under a Gulf-brokered transition plan backed by Washington and its Western allies.