Yemen's new President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has taken control of two key military units formerly under the command of men who had been loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, AFP reported Saturday (May 5th).

Earlier this week, Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh -- a nephew of Saleh's who commanded the presidential guard -- stepped down after refusing a presidential order to do so for one month, Jamal Benomar, the United Nations special envoy to Yemen, said Thursday.

The announcement came just over a week after Yemen's air force commander quit his post after also refusing to go for weeks.

Restructuring Yemen's military, however -- a condition stipulated in the country's Gulf-sponsored and UN-backed transition plan -- will take time because men who were close to Saleh remain in positions of power in Yemen's military.

"There are some that want to put obstacles in front of the transition," Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar of Yemen's 1st Armoured Brigade told AFP.