Dubai: Last week's Yemeni airstrike on a suspected Al Qaida training camp in southern Yemen is expected to further confuse the already difficult situation in the country.
The military action against the terrorist organisation coincides with ongoing battles against Al Houthi rebels in northern Yemen and the internal political crisis over the unity of the two parts of the country.
Last Thursday's airstrike was a necessary action, analysts say. Furthermore, it was carried out with US intelligence and firepower, Yemeni officials confirmed.
"Undoubtedly, the cooperation is big, comprehensive and close," Yemeni Information Minister Hassan Al Lawzi responded when asked about the American assistance. "They are partners in this war that is launched not only by Yemen but the entire world against terrorism," he told Gulf News. "It was a preventive operation," Al Lawzi said. "It aimed to stop the group from carrying out a destructive operation they were planning."
However, some Yemeni analysts explained that the strike came after weeks of surveillance.
Al Qaida was planning to assassinate some prominent Yemeni figures and to attack official foreign targets in the country while the state is busy fighting the rebellion in the north, they added.
"Now I believe the confrontation will be between the state and Al Qaida," Fares Saqqaf, Director of Future Studies in Sana'a, said.
Civilian deaths
Women and children were among those killed in last Thursday's airstrike on the village of Al Majala in Abyan Province, a local official and tribal sources said. The government said it targeted a suspected Al Qaida training camp, killing around 30 militants, some of them foreigners.
While many southern parliamentarians threatened to suspend their membership, demanding the government explain, the government presented on Wednesday a report on the operation, after it apologised for the killing of civilians, and announced the formation of a local committee to study closely the results of the operation.
In a rare appearance, a group of men claiming to be Al Qaida members has vowed to avenge those killed in the raid. In a short video aired by the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera on Tuesday, a bearded, unidentified man introduced as one of the group leaders and flanked by two armed men addressed a crowd gathered in Abyan province to mourn those killed in Thursday's air raid.
"We carry prayer beads and with them we carry a bomb for the enemies of God," the man said. "Know, [Yemeni] soldiers, that we do not want to fight you, and there is no issue between us," the bearded man said.
Since Thursday's airstrike, more than 30 suspected Al Qaida members have been arrested by government forces, the Yemeni Defence Ministry said.
While some analysts believe the raid might be counterproductive, other analysts disagree. "We might witness a strengthening or weakening of Al Qaida in Yemen, but I believe its role will weaken," Saqqaf said, "because the state will be after its members and leaders. It knows who they are ... and where they are," he added.
