Ba Jammal office manager killed and Deputy Minister wounded

Ali Atif, office manager of Abdul Qadir Ba Jammal, the Secretary General of the General People’s Congress Party (GPC) died after a firefight with militants in Hada area in Sana’a on Thursday. Salem Salman, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade was severely wounded in the attack. Salman’s brother accused the guards of Sheikh Hamid al-Ahmar, one of the most important leaders from Islah Party, of shooting his brother and Ali Atif while they were in al-Ahmar’s house after a problem arose between them. They did not explain the nature of the dispute.

News Yemen website reported a security source as saying that the fire exchange took place in Hada area and badly wounded Ali Atif and Salman while wounding two guards of Sheikh Hamid al-Ahmar. 

The GPC expressed condolences over the death of Atif, condemning his assassination, and called on the police to administer swift justice.

The Yemeni-German Hospital where Atif and Salman were rushed to affirmed that Atif passed away before he reached the hospital, from several injuries in his chest.  The 26 September website said that President Saleh instructed to rush Salman for treatment to India on the state’s account. According to hospital, Salman sustained three severe wounds in his legs. Eyewitnesses told the Yemen Observer that more than 12 security vehicles loaded with policemen have been deployed around the houses of Hamid and Hussein al-Ahmar in Hada area last Friday afternoon. The source added that Hamid al-Ahmar and his brothers were seen leaving their houses but none of the security men had interfered to stop them. 

The Yemen Observer tried to communicate with members of al-Ahmar’s family to comment on the incident but their cell phones were found either turned off or not responding. 

The General Secretariat of the Islah Party wondered about the condolence statement issued by the GPC, condemning the GPC politicizing the incident, which Islah Party considers an ordinary criminal act. “At the time we regret this painful incident and we wonder about why the GPC is politicizing as was illustrated in their statement. This can only agitate issues at a time when the country is suffered various crises,” said the statement of the Islah Party that was published in Al-Sahwa website – Islah’s official website- on Saturday afternoon. 

A controversial report about the causes of the incident was published on different websites. Some stated that the incident started when the guards of Salman stopped one of the guards of Hamid al-Ahmar whose house is close to Salman’s house in Hada area, asking him who he was and where he was going. The guard shot at him. Later some policemen were brought to the scene, accompanied by some of al-Ahmar’s guards. They asked Salman’s guards to come out but they refused to leave the house. Then al-Ahmar’s guards exchange fire with the men in the house. The fire exchange resulted in two people from each side injured. 

Other sources said that a problem broke out between the guards of al-Ahmar and the guards of Salman and that the al-Ahmar’s guards detained one of Salman’s guards and took him to the house of al-Wade’ea who is the chief of al-Ahmar’s guards. The sources said that Salman communicated with al-Wade’ea to tell him to come to his house and solve the problem, but when Salman and Atif reached al-Wade’eea’s house his guards exchanged fire with them. injuring Salman and Atif.

Salman, Atif and their guards are all from Yafi’a tribe, one of the biggest tribes of the southern part of Yemen, while al-Ahmar and his guards come from the Hashid tribe, the biggest tribe of the northern part of Yemen. 

In addition to being Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Salman is the Deputy Chief of the GPC’s Public Relations Unit and a member of the GPC’s permanent committee. Atif was also a member of the GPC’s permanent committee. 

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