Ousted Yemen president's son leaves army, named envoy

Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi on Wednesday named the eldest son of ousted dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh as the country's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, state television reported. With the decision, Ahmed Abdullah Saleh is to leave the army and a rival of his, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, becomes adviser to the president for military and security affairs, said the television. In December, Hadi dramatically restructured the military to curb the influence of those linked to the toppled strongman. He scrapped the elite Republican Guard that Ahmed Abdullah Saleh had commanded and removed Saleh's nephew, Yehya, from his powerful post as deputy chief of central security. Hadi took the reins of power last year, after the elder Saleh stepped down under a power transition agreement mediated by the Gulf Cooperation Council, following a year-long uprising against his rule. Wednesday's appointments were part of the restructuring process. Two other influential members of the Saleh family were also appointed to diplomatic posts, the television said. General Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, who had commanded the ex-president's personal guard, and Ammar Mohammed Abdallah Saleh, who had been deputy chief of national security were given the embassies in Germany and Ethiopia, respectively. The appointments come as the ex-president is in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. He spent time recovering in a Riyadh hospital in June 2011 after a bomb attack on his compound seriously wounded him.