The operations targeting Al Qaida camps and cells were firstly carried out by the attack of 2 American Cruise missiles and then ground and air operations of Yemeni forces. In the operation, an Al Qaida camp near the capital Sana’a and the Al Qaida elements in Erhab and Abyan provinces were targeted. However, especially the loss of civilian lives in the attack in Abyan rather than Al Qaida elements caused reactions. The official declarations explained that the attacks were preventive strikes against the terrorists who were in preparation for attacks on British Embassy and foreigners.
After a short period of time over the first operation, a joint operation was launched this time targeting the al Qaida militias in Southern Yemen, Sabwa area on 24 December 2009. The operation was claimed to be organized due to the information that Al Qaida leaders got over the first operation were organizing a meeting. Despite the information received that the targets of the operation; Anwar Awlaki, one of the leaders of Al Qaida, Al Qaida’s Southern Saudi Arabia responsible Abu Basir Nasser Al Wahishi and his assistant Said Shehri were killed, it was later learned that they were stil alive. It was claimed that Anwar Awlaki has relations with Nidal Malik who organized an attack to the US Fort Hood military base in Texas. Besides, Yemeni government declared that in the latest attacks 30 Al Qaida militants were killed, however local sources later said they were only 7.
It was declared that in the operations on 17 and 24 December, more than 60 militants were killed. Yemeni Vice Minister of Internal Affairs Saleh Husain al Zevari said that in the operations 64 militants were killed and 29 were arrested. On the other side, the suicide attack organized by Omar Faruq Abd’al Muttalip with Nigeria origin in a passenger plane on Amsterdam-Detroit route once again underlined the importance of Yemeni problem. The US and Britain decided to close their embassies in Yemen due to Al Qaida threats. The US Embassy in Sana’a witnessed 2 attacks in 6 months in 2008.
Al Qaida Presence in Yemen and Threat towards the US
In fact, Al Qaida movement began to find supporters in Yemen since the Arab-Afghan mujahedeen war in Afghanistan against the USSR with the support of the US and Saudi Arabia. Although Some of the Yemeni and Saudi citizens that went to Afghanistan turned back to their countries After the withdrawal of the USSR in 1980s, they brought an important experience of reaching political aims with military means. It is claimed that Al Qaida actions in Yemen started at the end of 1992. Al Qaida activities in Yemen were announced after bomb attacks in Movenpick Hotel and Goldmohur Hotel targeting American soldiers in Aden in 1992. 17 US soldiers was killed in the attack organized to American USS Cole destroyer near Aden Port in October 2000 by militants who were accused to be affiliated with Al Qaida.
In the period after 11 September despite the cooperation between the US and Yemeni government, Al Qaida activity in Yemen did not end. Along with the attacks organized to diplomatic and military mission representatives, the attacks against civilians from Western countries showed that the organization has widened its goals. 26 tourists died in an attack targeting the tourists in September 2006. 8 tourists died in July 2007. 2 Belgian tourists died in an attack claimed to be organized by the militants affiliated with Al Qaida in January 2008. After the attack in April 2008 targeted the Italian Embassy, 6 terrorists and 10 people died in the attack organized against the US Embassy for the second time. Al Qaida not only carries out attacks against Westerners but also targets all foreigners and diplomatic missions in the country. After the murder of 4 South Korean tourists, in the same month an unsuccessful suicide attack was organized to Sana’a Embassy of South Korea.
Abu Basir Nasser Al Wahishi unified factions of Al Qaida in Yemen and Saudi Arabia under the umbrella of Al Qaida in Arabian Peninsula. Abu Basir Nasser Al Wahishi and Kassem Raimi from Yemen, Said al-Shehri and Muhammed Awfi from Saudi Arabia met at a meeting in January 2009, declared the unification. The most important attack organized after the unification was unsuccessful suicide attack against the son of Saudi Minister of Internal Affairs and his assistant Muhammed bin Nayif. Al Qaida tried to carry out some attacks against Saudi family before. However those previous attacks were prevented at the stage of preparation. It was mentioned that the terrorist who organized the attack called Abdullah Hasan Tali Asiri from Saudi Arabia was trained in Yemen and passed to Najran, a Saudi territory and then came to Jidda to organize the attack.
The Al Qaida presence in Yemen threatens regional countries’ stability as well as American interests in the region and it is hard to stop the threat through the support given to the Abdollah Saleh regime. 97 of 210 Al Qaida militants are from Yemeni origin. Besides it is known that there are training camps of Al Qaida in Yemen. Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs Al Qirbi, in an interview with BBC following the information received that the attack to the plane on Amsterdam-Detroit route was organized by Al Qaida, declared that it is certain that there are Al Qaida elements in Yemen, those include authorities and they are aware of the threat and Al Qaida may organize similar attacks. Al Qirbi also mentioned that their primary aim is to struggle with Al Qaida and added that international community must provide larger support to Yemen in terms of intelligence, military equipment and security. After the declaration of Al Qirbi, Yemeni security forces undertook an operation against Al Qaida militants in Hudaydah, South Yemen. During the operation, 10 security forces and 4 civilians died. Vice Minister of Internal Affairs Saleh Al-Zavari in the declaration after the clash said that the operations would continue until Al Qaida is destroyed.
After Yemeni government’s demand for support from international community Premier of Britain Gordon Brown called for discussing the struggle against radicalism in Yemen at the meeting that will be held on 28 December 2010 for Afghanistan. Brown in his written declaration mentioned that international community will not leave Yemen alone in its struggle against radicalism. The head of US CENTCOM General David Petraeus payed a surprise visit to Yemen on 2 January 2010, met President Abdollah Saleh and discussed the development of military cooperation and declared that the US support will continue. However the leader of opposition party Shawki Al Qadri who issued a declaration about American soldiers to be sent to Yemen, said that such a decision will be a disaster and they will side with Al Qaida in order to get rid of American soldiers.
The support of the US to Yemen increases continuously. It provided 70 million dollars aid in security and military areas in 2009 and it is envisaged provide aid more than 110 million dollars in 2010. In fact the US is suspicious about the groups such as Al Qaida to be effective in the region like Saudi Arabia and perceives the emergence of Shiite presence advocated by Iran as a threat. The suspicion that potential Al Qaida and Houthi success will not be limited to Yemen and will affect the stability in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other Gulf countries. Naturally the emergence of autonomous structures close to Iran worries both the US and its ally Arab countries. It does not seem possible for Yemeni government to suppress Houthi rebel by itself.
The support of the US and Saudi Arabia is crucial for Yemen whose %60 of budget income is composed of oil revenues. In Yemen where the government revenue is reduced due to both decrease in oil revenues at national level and due to oil prices that keeps at a low level at international level, it is clear that there is not enough economic resource to maintain civil war. In 2008 Yemen has 400 thousand barrels raw oil and in 2009 it decreased to approximately 250 barrels. In the first 10 months of 2009 in which oil prices decreased to 60 dollars from 100 dollars, Yemeni oil revenue became 1.473 billion dollars.
At the same period of 2008 Yemen’s oil revenues were 4.149 billion dollars. The decrease in oil revenues brought serious financial problems in Yemen’s struggle against the conflict in the North. Yemen’s decision to organize a meeting for economic cooperation with the Gulf countries following its increase in its financial problems is striking. The members of GCC mentioned that they support Yemen’s territorial unity and sovereignty at their meeting on 14-16 December and expressed that they will transfer the money to Salih regime that is accumulated in the fund called Aid to Yemen created in 2006 in London. From a different point of view, it is very hard for Yemeni government to maintain the war in the North by itself considering the decreased revenues.
The cost of the war affects the stability of Yemeni government because on the one hand the independence demands of Southern Yemenis came once more to the surface and on the other hand the support of Salih regime to the tribes that are taken into the war in order to maintain their loyalty has gained more importance. Besides, the level of the criticisms about the discrimination that is applied to themselves from Southern provinces of the country increases each day. Therefore Yemeni government perceives the support of the US and the Gulf countries, primarily Saudi Arabia as vital in order to get rid of such criticisms and maintain the war. On the other hand, the direct support of the US and Saudi Arabia to Yemeni government may lead exacerbation of the Yemeni problem.
»» Veysel Ayhan, ORSAM Advisor Abant Izzet Baysal University
Benzer Haberler 
