Why al-Qa'ida found hotbed in Yemen?
by Abdulrahman Shamlan, The Media Line
October 23, 2012
<
http://www.jewishjournal.com/world/article/why_al_qaida_found_hotbed_in_yem
en>
On Saturday, Human Rights Watch released a report indicating that Yemeni
government soldiers raided some hospitals in the southern port city of Aden
in search of suspected Al-Qa'ida terrorists.
The report further stated that army troops have stormed hospitals and
medical facilities in Aden at least five times since the beginning of this
year, saying the raids led one hospital in the city to suspend its
operations and others to turn patients away in fear of violence.
Human rights activist Mosa Al-Nimrani told The Media Line that, "Arresting
wounded people is a crime that violates human rights conventions. The
government can arrest the suspected terrorists, but it has first to make
sure they avail of medical services."
The HRW report was released one day after Al-Qa'ida loyalists launched an
attack on a military base in the southern town of Shuqra, killing at least
15 soldiers and wounding scores of others. Shuqra, a town in Abyan province,
had been taken over by Ansar Al-Sharia, the Yemeni Al-Qa'ida franchise, in
2011, but was retaken by the army earlier this year.
After the Ansar Al-Sharia members were kicked out of strongholds they had
seized last year, the terrorist group resorted to carrying out deadly
suicide attacks targeting high-ranking army commanders and sometimes
launching surprise attacks against army posts.
In May, with American backing, the Yemeni army initiated a comprehensive
offensive against the Al-Qa'ida-aligned terrorists at the behest of
President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, driving them out from their strongholds in
the southern part of the country.
The victory was viewed as significant progress in the fight against the
group, but its proven capability to continue to launch deadly attacks leaves
many to wonder how Al-Qa'ida operatives are able to successfully hide from
government and what makes them so dangerous.
Speaking with The Medial Line on condition of anonymity, one high-ranking
security official who participated in the offensive against the terrorists
in Abyan, theorized that, "Terrorists thrive and gain strength in areas of
conflicts."
"The terrorists found a sanctuary in Yemen because of the constant conflicts
in the country," he elaborated. "When they saw the 2011 unrest - the biggest
conflict-- they expanded their presence and attempted to establish 'Islamic
Emirates,'" he said.
Abdusalam Mohammed, the chairman of Abaad Studies and Research Center, told
The Media Line that, "Al-Qa'ida, as well as any other militant group, exists
where the governments are weak and unable to establish their authority."
"Al-Qa'ida found a hotbed in Yemen because the central government is too
weak to establish its authority in cities, let alone in distant and remote
areas," he said. "Yemen has rugged mountainous areas and vast deserts where
Al-Qa'ida-linked fighters can hide from the government. It has also a
coastline of about 2,200km (1,367 miles) on both the Arab and Red seas,
through which terrorists can get supplies of weapons because the government
can't protect it."
Al-Nimrani shared Mohammed's thinking that the main factor behind the
existence of Al-Qa'ida in Yemen is the fact that the government is too weak
to establish its authority in every part of the country.
Gailan Abdulmalik, a resident of Abyan, where Al-Qa'ida is most active, told
The Media Line that, "Al-Qa'ida members live normally. Some of them work in
public offices; others work in trade and other businesses."
Representing another way of looking at Al-Qa'ida in Yemen, Ali Al-Amad, a
leader in the Houthi Movement, a Shiite group backed by Tehran, told The
Media Line that Al-Qa'ida has been established in Yemen at the desire of
some regional and international powers (referring to the U.S and its
regional backers).
"Earlier this year, it was announced that Al-Qa'ida has a great number of
fighters in some Yemeni cities and towns like Rada. Then they disappeared at
once," he cited as evidence that Al-Qa'ida in Yemen is the creation of
regional and international powers and their local agents in the country.
"They make it appear and disappear according to their will," he said.
Al-Amad believes that "What has been attributed to Al-Qa'ida in the context
of the recent terrorist attacks and bombings comes within the framework of
political conflicts between the war lords in the country," an understanding
that almost all Houthi followers share.
Al-Amad described President Hadi's inauguration speech, in which he pledged
to make fighting terrorism in Yemen his priority, as a way of declaring that
he would implement external powers' agendas in the country.
"He [Hadi] came to power via a US-backed, Gulf monarchies-drawn initiative.
And this tells you the whole story." Al-Amad said.
According to Mohammed, Al-Qa'ida in Yemen has been greatly weakened after
the recent offensive against its operatives in the south.
Al-Qa'ida is currently practicing guerrilla war against army troops in which
it depends largely on collaboration inside these military institutions as
well as on the element of surprise, Mohammed said.
"Yemen, as well as the US, should not focus primarily on the Al-Qa'ida
threat because it's no longer the biggest challenge facing the country.
Currently, the biggest threats to Yemen's security as well as to the
regional security are the expansion of the Houthi Group and the former
regime which tries to sew chaos," he concluded.
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Received on Tue Oct 23 2012 - 08:41:49 EDT
