Yemen security forces pursue Anwar al-Awlaki

By Faisal Darem in Yemen
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-05-17



				[MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images] Officials say that Yemeni security forces have reduced the danger posed by al-Qaeda in Yemen.

[MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images] Officials say that Yemeni security forces have reduced the danger posed by al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Yemeni security forces continue to track down individuals believed to be linked to al-Qaeda, including Anwar al-Awlaki, who is now on the security agencies' wanted list, Yemeni officials said.

According to the interior ministry, al-Awlaki is wanted over ties with al-Qaeda and with a number of individuals involved in terrorist attacks.

Major General Fadl al-Qousi, undersecretary of the Interior Ministry, revealed that al-Awlaki was one of the targets of a December 24th, 2009 air raid on an al-Qaeda hideout in Rafad in the Al-Saeed district of Shabwa Province, where members of the terrorist group were meeting to plot attacks.

He said that if Yemen obtains any evidence from other countries that incriminates al-Awlaki, the government would treat the matter according to Yemeni law. He said that Yemeni forces are doing everything possible to track down terrorist elements in addition to their continued co-operation with the international community in combating terrorism.

Al-Awlaki will stand trial in Yemen if there is evidence of his involvement in any crime, Dr. Abubaker Al-Qirbi, the Foreign Minister of Yemen, told Al-Shorfa.

Al-Qirbi added the government is responsible for pursuing any terrorist element on Yemeni territory. No foreign agency can operate in the country except through Yemeni security agencies. He said there is co-ordination between Yemeni intelligence, the US, Europe and Arab countries in combating terrorism. Al-Qaeda is an international organisation which will only be eliminated with joint international operations, he said.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula came to the defense of al-Awlaki in a video message posted on the internet on Sunday. Nasir al-Wuhaishi, head of the al-Qaeda branch, said in the 10-minute message that his group has a "religious duty" to protect al-Awlaki, threatening to launch attacks in the United States if he is killed or captured. "Our troops will provide you with whatever you need," al-Wuhaishi said in the message, presumably addressing al-Awlaki.

Security agencies in Yemen have been monitoring Anwar Al-Awlaki since 2009 following the Fort Hood incident in the US involving Major Hassan Nidal. His name appeared in the media once again in late 2009 in the case of Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound US airliner on December 25th, 22009.

Ali Al-Ansi, Yemen's national security chief, stated in an interview with the newspaper Al-Siyasa earlier this month that Awlaki "was not wanted prior to these two incidents, and no one knew about him."

Al-Ansi revealed that Al-Awlaki's father, Dr. Nasser, attempted to hand over his son, but his efforts were unsuccessful. He stressed that "the security agencies are continually monitoring Al-Awlaki over his links to terrorism. In case he is arrested, he will be tried according to the law and the constitution."

He said that Yemen "views terrorism as a comprehensive system with various aspects, including actual acts of terror, funding, or inciting others to commit terrorist acts. Any person who finances, carries out, or incites other to commit criminal acts, is considered among those wanted for terrorism."

Al-Ansi added that "the anti-terrorism efforts underway in Yemen against elements of al-Qaeda have accomplished their main objective as al-Qaeda elements are under siege, their movements have been restricted as well as their ability to carry out any terrorist operation across the country."

Political analyst Mohammed Al-Ghabiri told Al-Shorfa that "the measures taken by the security forces have hindered the movement of al-Qaeda and paralysed the organisation, and precautionary security measures forced the organisation to operate within a limited area." He said that pre-emptive strikes, arrests, checkpoints and the continuous and unannounced security campaigns prevented the organisation from launching new attacks.

Al-Ghabiri said the failed bombing attempt against the British ambassador in Sanaa last month is proof of this success, and this failure reflects the state of confusion within al-Qaeda ranks in Yemen. He said Yemeni security agencies did not prevent the execution of this attack against the British ambassador, but the failure of this attack is a reflection of the security situation and the measures taken in this regard.

He said the continuous efforts by security agencies to track down wanted individuals such as Anwar al-Awlaki could prove successful if done in co-operation with security agencies and regional tribes.

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Reader Comments

أحمد آل حماد2010-06-15 16:03:00

Praise Allah! The Gulf countries cooperated with Yemen, and helped it get rid of all those who have collaborated with the terrorists, including the Houthis and others, as well as the members that were sent into Yemen by Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan under the orders of the criminal Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist organization in Afghanistan and the world. Because of this, Al-Qaeda was not able to gain control over Yemen and turn it into another Afghanistan, so that it could train terrorists and send them to countries around the world in order to carry out the criminal activities which we see from time to time. If Al-Qaeda were successful in turning Yemen, which is located in the middle of the Arab countries, into another Afghanistan, by setting up training camps for terrorists and sending them to the Arab countries, it would have been a disaster in every sense of the word, because Yemen would have been devastated. However, the bold, strong, right and timely move that came before Al-Qaeda was able to expand and organize itself in Yemen, was a response that the Houthis and their supporters from Al-Qaeda deserved. It was a move in the right place, as the Yemeni forces launched multiple coordinated attacks in all the regions that terrorists and Houthis controlled, until they were pushed to the Saudi borders, when the Houthis and all those who were with them announced their surrender and defeat, because the assault carried out by the Yemeni forces was powerful and harsh, and by doing so, they were able to preserve the unity of Yemen and its security, as well as the security of the neighboring Arab countries.

علي بن عبدالله2010-05-28 02:04:00

Yemenis suffer from the same problems as the majority of the Arab nations. They suffer from the president’s haughtiness and his refusal to leave power. One person leads the country and controls everything. Ali Abdullah Salah has been in power for many years. He used to control only northern Yemen before the unification. Since the country has been unified, he has led the whole country. But he has forgotten many of the demands of the Yemenis, those people who chose him to be their president for a trial period. They wanted to check his ability to assume responsibility, and his ability to meet the Yemenis’ requirements adequately. He has held power for many years, but Yemen is still suffering and hasn’t developed culturally or economically. Yemen hasn’t witnessed any progress. In general, culture and consciousness are not spread. In reality, those military leaders must leave power when they fail. Perhaps their successors may change the situation in the country. However, because he is irresponsible and enjoys a luxurious life, he cannot notice the misery of his people or know what their expectations are.

2010-05-19 14:00:00

Yes to secession! We think that for Yemen to qualify to escape the danger of being classified as a "failed country," this will not come from financial grants; rather, it will result from updating and developing the country’s administrative affairs, and from the creation of big projects that cannot possibly be created under the current Yemeni circumstances. The unity which was imposed by inevitable political regional conditions only unified the Yemenis on the stamps and in the country’s motto. We want cessation; we want to go back to the year 1990. The choice of unity was not a binding and legal option. We must separate and go back to the previous borders. This was a failed experiment, and a national survey on the South’s cessation needs to be done, supervised by the United Nations.

عبد المجيد2010-05-19 13:05:00

Our Brothers in Sanaa fake the truth and say that there is stability in the south, while the news show daily demonstrations claiming many victims and injured people. In the south, we want to secede, but without returning to socialism. We are an Arab Muslim country and we want the rule of Sharia and the Islamic religion and then civil laws. We do not want Al-Bidh and his followers. Some people say, "Why not hold a referendum for the southerners, so that these separatists will know that they are a minority and that southerners want unity, thus avoiding lots of problems?" I want to say to them……

جنوبي حر2010-05-19 13:05:00

Let the United Nations hold a referendum, as it did for East Timor with Indonesia, and you will see that we want secession. We have an unknown future in Yemen. God is the helper. Who benefits from all that is happening? The most important and influential group in power. I also hope to address backwardness in northern Yemen, by providing education. How long will we lag behind? All that is happening in Yemen is the outcome of ignorance and backwardness. One cannot give what one does not have. I hope everyone (not the government) will take an interest in youth and children, and educate them so they will have a promising and educated generation, able to contribute to the building of Yemen ..Good luck to all.

عبدالله2010-05-19 13:05:00

There is no power and no strength except with Allah. May God protect Yemen and its people. There is no good sign, and chaos is rampant in the whole region. May God save Yemen from saboteurs and bring unity and security, and guide their leader for the good of the country and its people. Socialist separatists are accustomed to killing and committing crimes, and they want to take Yemen back to medieval times; but our people are aware of that. They have ruled us for many decades, and we have witnessed nothing but lynching and murder. Everyone knows that separatists want to arouse confusion, as they did with the former governments of the south. They massacred people. May God protect Yemen from terrorists and separatists. I hope that peace and security will prevail in all areas of Yemen, from Saada to Mahra.

2010-05-19 02:03:00

Dear brothers and sisters, we are an Arab nation in the south of Arabia, ambitious for freedom and self-determination, and this is what was decided by the nation and announced by the government of the Federation of South Arabia, in its agreement to implement the United Nations resolutions, and that was a result of the pressure put on the British government by the government of the Federation, and of the Federation's adherence to implementing these resolutions. This pressure forced the British government to consent to the implementation of the United Nations resolutions, although there were some reservations; however, these reservations did not impair the implementation of the proposed mission. Today, we are moving toward self-determination, and Yemen and other countries should know that… And they should stand by our side and support us and our cause.

2010-05-19 02:02:00

We all know that the United Nations admit the existence of southern Arabia; this has been confirmed in the United Nations’ resolutions related to southern Arabia. The United Nations do not accept Yemen's claims of the ownership of southern Arabia, and will not accept it in the future. Just as Abdul Karim Qasem failed in claiming Kuwait with his crazy claims that Kuwait is an Iraqi land, any Yemeni demands for southern Arabia as a part of Yemen will fail. That's because we are not followers; we are free, we govern ourselves by ourselves without any foreign domination, and as the United Nations stood with Kuwait against Abdul Karim Qasem, it will support us against Yemen and condemn all Yemeni lies and claims. Southern Arabia's people insist on having their independence and their right to self-determination without any foreign intervention.

الحتمي العلهي2010-05-18 00:05:00

All the information says that the government of Yemen is out in force, protecting terrorists, including terrorist Awaliq and many of the terrorists, so as to benefit powerful trafficking and profit from terrorism. We Yemenis ask the U.S. administration not to provide any support for Yemen, but they have to strike with an iron fist the strongholds of terror in Sanaa and Marib, Al-Jawf and Albaydah and all the terrorist camps in the north.

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