Suspicions over Batarfi’s involvement in Raymi’s death gnaw away at al-Qaeda in Yemen
Thursday 27/February/2020 - 12:12 PM
Mouaz Mohammed
Despite the announcement by the media arm of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) on Sunday, February 23 that the terrorist organization’s Shura Council agreed to install Khalid Batarfi as the new emir in the Arabian Peninsula, succeeding Qasim al-Raymi, who was killed in a US strike. But differences have erupted against the backdrop of Batarfi’s inauguration, according to Yemeni media sources.
The Yemeni news website Al-Masdar Online quoted a "private source" who confirmed that disputes are hitting the organization, especially in light of accusations within the leaderships in Yemen’s Abyan governorate and other areas that Omar al-Nahdi, a leader within the terrorist organization, was working for US intelligence and lured Raymi to die in the US strike.
According to the source, the accusations have also extended to Batarfi, saying that he had made a deal with the Americans to eliminate Raymi by using Nahdi.
In addition, it was clear from the organization's statement that there were differences regarding the choice of Raymi’s successor.
?Who is Omar al-Nahdi
Nahdi is an AQAP leader of Hadrami origin. He led the branch of the organization in Hadramawt and also stormed the Republican Palace in Mukalla. Photos spread of him standing on the Yemeni flag in 2015.
Leaders within the organization are calling for Nahdi to be tried by al-Qaeda judges on charges of working with US intelligence, which caused the division.
On April 25, 2015, Ansar al-Sharia held a meeting with the people of the al-Shihir region east of Mukalla, during which Nahdi said that the organization came to Hadramawt to protect it from the Shiite Houthis.
When the people of Mukalla demanded that al-Qaeda leave the region in July 2015, the terrorist organization launched a campaign of arrests of retired officers and military personnel, at which time Nahdi said to a group of protesters, “The organization did not come by your approval, and no one will be able to get us out of Hadramawt... because I am from Hadramawt.”
Nahdi justified al-Qaeda’s presence in the region by saying that they are the ones fighting the Houthis and losing blood, asking, “Then we leave?... This is unfair.”
After the US announced Raymi’s death on February 7, pro-ISIS media reported that eighteen people, including leaders, left the organization after imprisonment or disagreement. Among them is Abu Omar al-Nahdi, whose affair was brought up to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
