Special Security Forces (Yemen)
The Special Security Forces (), formerly known until 2013 as the Central Security Organization (), is a paramilitary force in Yemen 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 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. History The CSO was founded as part of Yemen's efforts to combat al-Qaeda. 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 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