Vol. 74/No. 35      September 20, 2010

Operations in Yemen are directed at disrupting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which took responsibility for a failed suicide bombing of a Detroit-bound flight last Christmas. Following the bombing attempt, Washington expanded its military cooperation with the Yemeni rulers, announcing $155 million in additional military assistance. The White House has publicly ordered the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and alleged leader of the group believed to be in Yemen.

U.S. operations in Yemen over the last nine months have included five reported strikes from fighter jets and sea-launched cruise missiles containing cluster bombs. One cruise missile strike killed more than 40 civilians. Washington appears to have taken a respite after an attack accidentally took out Jabir al-Shabwani, deputy governor of Marib Province.

Washington has for years been mounting pressure and providing incentives for the Yemeni government to pursue a military campaign against AQAP. Initially apprehension was widespread among the Yemeni rulers, as the weak government of Ali Abdullah Saleh has traditionally relied on alliances with armed Islamist groups and tribal militias to maintain its hold on power. But AQAP’s increasingly frequent attacks directed at the government—and most recently its declaration of war against the Yemeni state in June—has helped steel the resolve of government officials.

Following an ambush on an armored personnel carrier that killed at least eight soldiers, the Yemeni military launched an offensive August 20 on the southern town of Lawdar. Troops besieged the city and distributed pamphlets calling on the city’s entire population of 80,000 to immediately evacuate.

At least 33 people were killed during the four-day assault, including 11 soldiers and at least three civilians. Conflicting reports of the number of al-Qaeda fighters killed was between 12 and 19. Among those reportedly killed was Adel Saleh Hardaba, AQAP’s second in command; at least five professed al-Qaeda members surrendered. Conflicting reports in the Yemeni Observer have put the number of al-Qaeda combatants in the city between 60 and 200.

The government claims AQAP is allied with groups fighting for separation for southern Yemen, which existed as an independent nation from 1967-1990. The nationalist movement denies any connection with al-Qaeda.

A range of exiled leaders from south Yemen, both those for and against independence, have denounced the siege, pointing out that the government has used its war against AQAP to justify its violent repression against rising discontent in the south.

Amnesty International accuses the government of organizing a violent crackdown on all government opposition and criticism under the pretext of combating terrorism.

In the north, the Yemeni government has been at war off and on for the last six years with Houthi rebels fighting against government discrimination. The two sides signed a cease-fire pact in Qatar August 26. Last year the government initiated what it calls Operation Scorched Earth—a six-month massive bombing campaign of civilian areas with some assistance from the Saudi Arabian military—that displaced more than a quarter million people.

The Yemeni government has likewise sought to brand Houthi fighters allies of al-Qaeda, which Houthi leaders deny. Houthi are Shiite Muslims, a branch of Islam whose adherents have been a major target of sectarian killings by al-Qaeda and its cothinkers in Iraq and elsewhere.

Hundreds demonstrated August 24 in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, demanding payment of the regular Ramadan bonus to state teachers and the release of jailed journalists. People forced to flee their village of Al-Ja’ashin nine months ago called on the government to protect them from the local sheikh.  
 
 
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