Tuesday, January 19, 2010
OTTAWA: Visiting Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi on Monday warned that sending Western troops to his country to combat extremist threats would only fuel terrorism.
"The fight against Al-Qaeda should be undertaken by the Yemeni counterterrorism units and the Yemeni armed forces," he told a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart.
"The presence of external troops in Yemen would actually hamper our efforts to fight Al-Qaeda. What we need is logistic support, training and technical capabilities to fight Al-Qaeda," said al-Kurbi.
As well, al-Kurbi said Yemen needs business investment and development aid to stem poverty and unemployment that he claimed were fueling extremism in his country.
US President Barack Obama has said he has "no intention" of sending troops to Yemen.
But critics lament Yemen's human rights record, suggesting that Western support for its government is stoking extremists.
"Yes, there we have problems in Yemen," al-Kurbi acknowledged. "But unfortunately they have been exaggerated," he added.
After the failed Christmas Day bombing of a US jetliner by a young Nigerian with Yemeni ties, Islamic clerics warned that any landing of foreign troops in Yemen would be met by a "holy war."
Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said: "Recent developments in Yemen and in North America, in fact at our border with the United States, have attracted the attention of the international community on the growing threat of extremist elements based in Yemen."
"Yemen is also facing other severe internal challenges in a very difficult regional context, particularly the Horn of Africa.
"Canada is concerned by these developments which threaten the stability of Yemen, the region and the international community."
In his statements, Cannon alluded to an attempt by a young Nigerian with Yemeni ties to set off a bomb on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25.
Canadian media also said British and US intelligence reports suggested that 20 Yemeni-trained "terrorists" were trying to get into Canada in order to then sneak into the United States.
OTTAWA: Visiting Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi on Monday warned that sending Western troops to his country to combat extremist threats would only fuel terrorism.
"The fight against Al-Qaeda should be undertaken by the Yemeni counterterrorism units and the Yemeni armed forces," he told a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart.
"The presence of external troops in Yemen would actually hamper our efforts to fight Al-Qaeda. What we need is logistic support, training and technical capabilities to fight Al-Qaeda," said al-Kurbi.
As well, al-Kurbi said Yemen needs business investment and development aid to stem poverty and unemployment that he claimed were fueling extremism in his country.
US President Barack Obama has said he has "no intention" of sending troops to Yemen.
But critics lament Yemen's human rights record, suggesting that Western support for its government is stoking extremists.
"Yes, there we have problems in Yemen," al-Kurbi acknowledged. "But unfortunately they have been exaggerated," he added.
After the failed Christmas Day bombing of a US jetliner by a young Nigerian with Yemeni ties, Islamic clerics warned that any landing of foreign troops in Yemen would be met by a "holy war."
Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said: "Recent developments in Yemen and in North America, in fact at our border with the United States, have attracted the attention of the international community on the growing threat of extremist elements based in Yemen."
"Yemen is also facing other severe internal challenges in a very difficult regional context, particularly the Horn of Africa.
"Canada is concerned by these developments which threaten the stability of Yemen, the region and the international community."
In his statements, Cannon alluded to an attempt by a young Nigerian with Yemeni ties to set off a bomb on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25.
Canadian media also said British and US intelligence reports suggested that 20 Yemeni-trained "terrorists" were trying to get into Canada in order to then sneak into the United States.
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