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The Special Security Forces ( ar, قوات الأمن الخاصة, Quwwatul Amn al-Khasah), formerly known until 2013 as the Central Security Organization ( ar, قوات الأمن المركزي, Quwwatul Amn al-Markazi), is a paramilitary force in
The CSO was founded as part of Yemen's efforts to combat
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...
under the control of the Minister of the Interior and forms a key part of the Yemeni security establishment. The force was some 50,000 strong , before the Yemeni Crisis
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sh ...
began, and SSF units are equipped with a range of infantry weapons and armored personnel carriers. The force also has its own extrajudicial detention facilities.Country profile: YemenLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...
Federal Research Division
The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress.
The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Un ...
(August 2008).
History
The CSO was founded as part of Yemen's efforts to combat al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
.
Its first Chief of Staff was Mohammed Abdullah Saleh.
He was succeeded by his son, Yahya Saleh, after his death in 2001. Under Yahya, the CSO became stronger, better paid, and better equipped. Yahya also oversaw the formation of the CTU, which was established with funding and training from the United States.
Within hours of the 2012 Sana'a bombing, an attack by Ansar al-Sharia on units of the CSF, Yahya Saleh was dismissed by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi ( ar, عبدربه منصور هادي, translit=ʿAbd Rabbih Manṣūr Hādī Yemeni pronunciation: ; born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former field marshal of the Yemeni Armed Forces who served as the pr ...
through presidential decree. Major General Fadhel Bin Yahiya al-Qusi replaced Saleh as the CSO's Chief of Staff.
The Central Security Organization was renamed as the Special Security Forces following a presidential decree on 21 February 2013.
On 8 September 2014 President Hadi relieved General Fadhel Bin Yahiya al-Qusi of his command of the SSF, and appointed General Mohammed Mansour al-Ghadra in his place.
Structure
Although nominally part of theInterior Ministry
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministr ...
, the CSO under Yahya was largely autonomous, and is composed of two main parts; the Central Security Forces (CSF) and the Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU). The CSF are paramilitary police that secure official buildings and infrastructure, as well as managing the dense network of security checkpoints on Yemen's highways. The CSF is also beginning to undertake covert countersurveillance at likely terrorist targets.Strengthening Yemeni Counterterrorism Forces: Challenges and Political ConsiderationsWashington Institute for Near East Policy
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP or TWI, also known simply as The Washington Institute) is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East.
WINE ...
(6 January 2010).
In contrast, CTU is a far smaller force, comprising a 150-strong special forces unit that has been successful in undertaking raids throughout the country since 2003.
Criticisms
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
has criticised the CSO, claiming that the organisation utilizes child soldiers and subjects Yemenis to arbitrary detention. Human Rights Watch has also alleged that CSF units deployed nearby had failed to prevent a killing spree carried out by pro-Saleh snipers on protesters in Sana'a
Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Gove ...
on 18 March 2011, during the Yemeni revolution
The Yemeni Revolution ( intifada), also known as the Yemeni Revolution of Dignity followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred simultaneously with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and other Arab Spring protests in the ...
.Yemen: Transition Needs Accountability, Security ReformHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
(6 April 2012).
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Law enforcement in Yemen Military of Yemen