Yemen Assorted Links
Debka: Yemen may enter Iraq fray on the side of al-Qaeda, although its been involved for quite a while: And what has led the canny Saudi king Abdullah, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi along with Syria and Yemen to dip their hands in the Somali cauldron and back the radical Islamic Courts revolutionaries? Their involvement in the Horn of Africa harks back to old enmities between the Muslim nations of the region and Christian Ethiopia, which also controls the sources of the Nile. However, their willingness - even after 9/11 and five years into the global war on terror in Afghanistan, Iraq, Europe and Asia - to range behind the Somali Islamists and let them establish a new al Qaeda stronghold, is not good news for Washington. It could be an advance signal of their intentions to step into the Iraq conflict if the fate of the Sunni Arab minority is at stake.
US trains Special Forces:
Sana’a - US special operations forces and marine unites have conducted a training programme for the counterterrorism unit of Yemen’s Central Security Forces, the US military’s Central Command said Saturday. The Central Command said in a statement posted on its website that the training was provided as part of a US defence programme aimed at enabling military forces of partner countries to reinforce their knowledge and capabilities.
The US Coast Guard has also been involved in training and building the Yemeni Coast Guard forces and providing them the means to enhance their ability to secure Yemen’s territorial waters, the statement said.
‘Through the use of conventional force training and joint combined exercise training events that focused on special operations, the Yemen forces have been able to make a significant impact to the global war on terror,’ it added. After the September 11, 2001 attacks on US cities, Yemen allied itself with the US-led ‘war on terrorism,’ and pursued suspected members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, putting scores of them on trial.
NY:
The Saudi authorities have detained Yemeni activist Abdul-Wahab al-Humaiqani, after participating in a conference supporting Iraq in Turkey, a source close to al-Humaiqani said.
The source said that al-Humaiqani, head of Al-Rushd Society that belongs to Al-Ehsan Charitable Foundation, was detained Tuesday when he entered Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage after his participation in “Iraqi People’s Support Conference” held in Turkey.
It expected in a statement to NewsYemen that good endeavors are being exerted to get al-Humaiqani released as soon as possible.
Al-Humaiqani is famous preacher for having the guts. He was member in the Islamic Islah party before resigning after the presidential elections in 1999.
The Foreign relations committee at the Iraqi parliament Tuesday demanded from the government to summon the Iraqi ambassador to Turkey in order to protest against “Iraqi People’s Support Conference” held there.
The Iraqi government condemned the conference which was held in December 13-14. It said the conference was not used as a mean to stabilize the situation in Iraq.
It added that the conference was clearly interfering with Iraq’s internal affairs by trying to create tension among citizens.
By calling for the support and recognition of those who attack Iraqis on a daily basis, the conference has crossed a red-line, an Iraqi official statement siad.
YCG reports World Bank
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