As US embassy reopen, Yemeni officials show friction with US over terror fight
By Lee Keath, APTuesday, January 5, 2010
Yemen shows frictions with US over terror fight
SAN’A, Yemen — Yemen is showing signs of friction with the United States over the fight against al-Qaida, insisting it has the terror group under control.
As the U.S. Embassy in San’a reopened its doors Tuesday after a two-day closure, the Interior Minister has suggested the shutdown was not needed.
It said in a statement that security in the capital “is good and there is no fear for the lives of any foreigner or foreign embassy.”
The statement is the latest by Yemeni officials complaining that the government is being wrongly depicted as unable to fight al-Qaida.
Over the weekend, the head of the National Security Agency played down the terror threat, insisting, “Yemen is not a refuge for al-Qaida, as some claim. These are exaggerations.”
