Yemeni Republican Guard
| Yemeni Republican Guard | |
|---|---|
Republican Guard shoulder sleeve insignia
|
|
| Active |
Republican Guard of North Yemen: 1964–1990 Republican Guard of Yemen: 1990–2012 Strategic Reserve Forces: 2013–2016 Republican Guard of Yemen: 2016-present |
| Country |
 Yemen
|
| Branch |
 Yemen Army
|
| Type |
Armoured Corps Mechanized Infantry |
| Role | Pretorian guard |
| Size | 100,000–150,000 |
| Part of | 1 Mountain Infantry Brigade 1 Thunderbold Brigade Special Security Forces Counterterrorism brigades 3 missile brigades 2 Armoured Brigades 1 Protective Brigade 1 Special Guard Brigade |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Maj. Gen. Ali al-Jayfi † |
| Insignia | |
| Unit flag |  |
Maj. Gen. Ali al-Jayfi †
Brig. Gen. Ahmed Saleh
The Yemeni Republican Guard (Arabic: الحرس الجمهوري اليمني), called as Strategic Reserve Forces (Arabic: قوات الاحتياطي الاستراتيجي) between 2013 and 2016, is an elite formation of the Yemen Army. It is currently commanded by the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's son, Ahmed Saleh. It was most notably involved in the 2011 Yemeni uprising, fighting in favour of the Saleh government. The unit was traditionally relied on as the backbone of the regime, and the unit was the best armed and trained in the armed forces. The Defence Ministry both overlooked and engaged in corruption with the unit in order to ensure the loyalty of the unit's leadership.
The Republican Guard was raised in 1964 by Yemen's Republican and Nasserist regime based on the Republican Guard (Egypt) model of a powerful, heavily armored formation defending the Capital city against internal threats. The Guard was initially created and trained by Egyptian and Soviet advisors. The Guard was supposed to be a symbol of the Republican State. Recruits were mostly drawn from the Hajjah and 'Amran Governorates. Each Battalion had a Chief Political Commissar with a deputy in every company, squadron and battery for political education of troops. The commissar was responsible only to the Brigade Commander and not to the Battalion commander.
On 15 October 2011, Al Arabiya, quoting defected General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, reported that 7,000 members of the Republican Guard and other security units had defected to the Yemeni opposition.
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