US Embassy In Yemen
Re-Opens
The
United States embassy in Yemen has reopened on Tuesday, a day
after Yemeni forces killed two al Qaeda militants they said were
behind a threat that forced U.S. and European missions to close.
’’We are reopened,’’ a U.S. embassy official said.
The embassy was closed on Sunday in response to what officials
said were threats from al Qaeda. Washington says the group is
trying to use Yemen as a base for attacks far beyond the region.
Yemen was thrust into the foreground of the U.S.-led war against
Islamist militants after a Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda said it
was behind a Christmas Day bomb attempt on a U.S.-bound plane.
Yemeni forces killed at least two al Qaeda militants on Monday.
They were said to be behind the threat that forced the foreign
embassies to close.
‘Taking no chances’
A number of western embassies closed their doors this week due
to security fears. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said
fighting in Yemen was a threat to regional and global stability.
The British and French embassies resumed operations on Tuesday
but remained closed to the public.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said Yemen was ’’ready to
confront and defeat anyone thinking of harming the country and
its security’’
Security Beefed up
Yemen had already stepped up security on its coastline to block
entry to militants from Somalia and said it was monitoring al
Qaeda militants in two provinces.
The Yemeni government is fighting a Shi'ite Muslim rebellion in
the north and separatist unrest in the south.
The West and Saudi Arabia fear al Qaeda will take advantage of
Yemen's instability to spread its operations to the neighboring
kingdom, the world's biggest oil exporter, and beyond.
REUTERS/Yinka
