Yemen boosts security following pre-emptive attack against al-Qaeda

By Faisal Darem in Sanaa
For Al-Shorfa.com
2009-12-22

[KHALED FAZAA/AFP/Getty Images] A Yemeni helicopter flies over Arhab during December 17th operation against al-Qaeda hideouts and training facilities.

Yemeni security forces have boosted security around public facilities and foreign interests in Sanaa and the provinces in anticipation of a reprisal from al-Qaeda, interior ministry officials told Al-Shorfa Monday.

The measures follow a massive operation against al-Qaeda hideouts and training facilities that led to the killing and arrests of tens of al-Qaeda members, according to government officials.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior General Fadl Al-Qousi said that the "directives for security leaders in the provinces stress continued performance, appraisal and direct supervision of the various security points, guards and patrols, given the important role this plays in strengthening security, stabilising society and preventing any security breaches".

He told Al-Shorfa that the US and Saudi Arabian embassies were among the sites targeted by Al-Qaeda in Yemen, along with government interests.

Al-Qousi said that "Yemen is an essential partner in fighting terrorism" and that "the Yemeni security forces carried out the operation alone. They are capable of executing operations larger in scale than that of last Thursday (December 17th)."

"The Interior Ministry is undertaking a broad campaign of arrests within the ranks of al-Qaeda," Al-Qousi said. "There have been over 40 arrests in recent days, at a time when protests have emerged in the south demanding an investigation into the raids carried out by the authorities in Abyan Province last Thursday."

Meanwhile the country's National Defence Council, in a meeting Saturday under the leadership of President Ali Abdullah Salih, lauded Thursday's attacks against the al-Qaeda locations. A statement by the council renewed its commitment to continue to fight terrorism, to pursue al-Qaeda elements and to prevent the execution of their plans to disrupt security and stability in Yemen.

But with reports of civilian causalities, opposition parties called for an investigation into the operation. Abdul-Rahman Bafadal, President of the Islah party block of the parliamentary opposition, said that the attack "failed to differentiate between the [legitimate] targets and the women and children".

The Yemeni Parliament summoned the government to appear Monday, to provide clarification on last Thursday's security operations in Abyan province and in the cities of Sanaa and Arhab.

The government, however, did not respond to the parliament, which led a few MPs to suspend their membership in protest. A fact-finding committee was also formed to investigate the events in the Abyan province.

Meanwhile, a large explosion on Monday in the training camp that was targeted last week claimed the lives of two civilians and injured nine other residents of Abyan.

"Al-Qaeda’s terrorist elements booby-trapped the area which was bombed last Thursday, in which there was a training centre for the organisation’s members," Abyan governor Ahmad Al-Maysari, told September Net news site. "They planted mines and prepared the site as an ambush for the security forces."

Al-Maysari said that the victims were residents who decided to visit the site of the bombing.

The governor encouraged citizens to co-operate and to pass on any information which may help the security forces to apprehend Al-Qaeda terrorists and bring them to justice, saying that "the Al-Qaeda elements who committed this crime will not go unpunished".

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