Yemeni governor: We can't contain Al Qaeda

As Yemen faces mounting US and international pressure to combat the use of the country as the new base for al-Qa’ida in the Arabian peninsula, the governor of Abyan province, one of the southern provinces seen as al-Qa’ida strongholds, said “truthfully and honestly, it [government control] is not so strong”. Ahmed Bin Ahmed al-Misri, who said the threat from al-Qa’ida in the mountain regions of his province had grown in the last six months, added: “There are not enough weapons, there are not enough soldiers.”…

“Say the government is paying someone $50, they will pay $100. At the same time al-Qai’da Islamic “scholars” will “collect” some of the tribe’s young people, jobless and naturally religious, to begin “training”, while also providing them with occasional financial help. Mr al-Misri says he cannot tell how many adherents it has but adds: “they are growing because the environment in Abyan helps the groups to grow because of the economic and employment problems.” Only a fraction of pledged Western aid has been disbursed because of serious corruption and capacity problems in Yemen’s government, with the result that per capita development aid is significantly below that of some poor African countries.