SANAA - Yemen's president ordered the restructuring of some military units on Monday, aiming to curb the powers of a son of former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and stabilize a country where Saleh's legacy still looms large.
The move coincided with an air strike that killed two suspected militants linked to al-Qaida, still a major threat to Yemen despite being driven out of its main southern strongholds by a US-backed military offensive in June.
State-owned news agency Saba said late on Monday that Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi issued decrees transferring the command of some Republican Guards' units to a newly formed force called the Presidential Protective Forces under his authority.
Other units from the elite Republican Guards, which is led by Brigadier General Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the ex-president's son, were placed under different regional command.
