From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Jan 02 2010 - 05:57:16 EST
Canada to help defend Yemen from al-Qaida reinforcements
By Jorge Barrera,
Canwest News ServiceJanuary 2, 2010
OTTAWA - A Canadian warship involved in NATO-led counter-piracy operations
off Somalia's coast now has an additional task after Somali Islamic
militants said Friday they planned to send fighters across the Gulf of Aden
to help al-Qaida fight the Yemeni government.
A NATO spokeswoman said warships patrolling international shipping lanes
through the Gulf of Aden, which separates Somalia from Yemen, were aware
al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-inspired armed group based in Somalia, had announced
plans to send fighters to Yemen where government forces are trying to crush
al-Qaida militants.
"They are not going to be advertising that they are al-Shabab terrorists,"
said spokeswoman Jacqui Sheriff in an interview with Canwest News Service
from NATO maritime headquarters in Northwood, U.K. "But the NATO warships
will be on the lookout for anything suspicious."
Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton is currently part of the counter-piracy
mission and was involved this week in the release of a ship hijacked by
Somali pirates.
Yemen has been thrust into the global spotlight following the foiled Dec. 25
terror attack on a U.S. plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit. The Nigerian
student accused of trying to ignite an explosive tucked in his underwear has
said he received training and equipment from al-Qaida in Yemen, which
borders Saudi Arabia.
Yemen has since called on Western countries, including Canada, to help in
its struggle with al-Qaida.
During an event in northern Mogadishu Friday, al-Shabab displayed hundreds
of newly trained fighters and a top al-Shabab militant said the group
planned to send reinforcements to al-Qaida.
"We tell our Muslim brothers in Yemen that we will cross the water between
us and reach your place to assist you fight the enemy of Allah," said Sheik
Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansour, Agence France-Presse reported. "I call upon the
young men in Arab lands to join the fight there."
Al-Shabab has managed to seize large parts of Somalia and now controls much
of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital where a beleaguered central government
remains propped by African Union troops.
Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, has requested Canada turn its
focus on the region. Its government wants Canada to help bolster its coast
guard, which would be the first line of defence against any militants coming
in from Somalia. Yemen has 1,906 kilometres of coast.
Yemen's ambassador to Canada Khaled Mahfoudh Bahah said in an interview with
Canwest News Service this week that Yemen wanted the Canadian International
Development Agency, Canada's aid arm, to "urgently" add Yemen to its list of
countries targeted for aid.
Canadian aid would help raise the country's standard of living and undercut
the growth of al-Qaida, he said.
"Canada has to look to that corner of the world," said Bahah. "Otherwise, it
will be very costly to think of bringing Yemen back . . . CIDA needs to
consider Yemen urgently because it is needed now."
The U.S. recently said it would more than double its security assistance to
Yemen and Britain said Friday it would host an international meeting in
January to discuss ways to keep Yemen from becoming an al-Qaida stronghold.
It is unclear if Canada will attend.
The department of Foreign Affairs was not able to provide comment Friday.
C Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
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