SANA'A: Hillary Clinton has condemned al-Qaeda's recent attacks in Yemen, assuring the world that the United States will not stand idle, while the group is spreading fear throughout the Arabian Peninsula. After a year of unrest, Yemen's armed forces lay in ruins, with soldiers' loyalties being split for the most part in between al-Islah, the country's Islamic faction and the General People's Congress, the ruling party. Interestingly, it is the presidential elections which seem to have prompted the bout of violence, as immediately after President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi's inauguration, al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for attacks against Republican Guard military bases and state officials. Over the past week alone, the terror group has bombed several buildings in the eastern province of Hadramaut, attacked officials in the southern seaport city of Aden and slaughtered its way through an entire military outpost, killing a reported 200 soldiers. On Tuesday it also claimed an assault against yet another Republican Guard base in al-Baydha, which is situated 180 km south of the capital Sana'a. Early reports said as many as 50 soldiers could have died in the attack, bringing this week's death toll to almost 300. Yemen's counter-terrorism unit forces have now been mobilized and are on full scale alert, with Ahmed Ali Saleh, the Head of the Republican Guards and son to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Yehia Mohamed Saleh, Saleh's nephew being the 2 men in charge of the deployment. And if the government already announced confidently that the armed forces were regaining lost grounds, forcing back al-Qaeda militants further back into their strongholds, stressing it would soon annihilate the threat altogether, Yemenis are somewhat less confident in the state's ability to deal with the terrorists. “It is clear that the army is struggling, with every passing day al-Qaeda is becoming bolder operating in areas we never thought they would ever enter. For years the threat was localized in a few pockets across Yemen. Militants are now spreading like cancer cells all over … we fear they will reach Sana'a or other major cities,” said Doctor Rajeh in Aden. In Mukalla, the regional capital of Hadramaut, residents told Bikyamasr.com that al-Qaeda had posted warning posters across town warning all those who worked for the government to immediately repent and renounce their allegiance to the “infidels” or they would be killed alongside “the enemies of the true religion.” The message profoundly marked residents' psyche, striking fear in the population. In Abyan, a southern province of Yemen which knows all too well what it means to endure al-Qaeda's rule since residents have been virtually held prisoners by the group for the past year or so, people are now fearing further American led airstrikes, wondering where they will ever found shelter. “We have nowhere to go. We are stuck here with no means to protect our families from the drones. May God protect us and have mercy on us,” said a distraught resident by phone. Just as Yemenis thought they had turned the corner, moving away from violence, it seems that their toughest fight, that for Freedom is about to start. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/HNvfM Tags: featured, Terror, Threat, Yemen Section: Latest News, Yemen
