Sunday, 05 September 2010 16:14

SANAA, 09 Oct – UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator,  John Holmes Friday visited al-Mazrak camp in Hajja governorate where over 6,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are being sheltered, and a group of IDP families who have taken refuge in open land, a statement by the UN World Food Programme in Sanaa said. Holmes told reporters “I came to Mazrak camp and to this district today to see first-hand the circumstances that the displaced people are living in, so that I could better understand how the international community can assist,” adding “this part of the country has been experiencing instability for some time now, and for some of these people this is the second or third time that they have been displaced.”  “The people who have fled to the camps have few or no safety nets or coping mechanisms,” Holmes said, adding “many came from conditions of great poverty, and have now lost the little that they had, so we need to help them with everything from shelter to food to clean water.  However, we also need to help the thousands of people who, for one reason or another, prefer not to live in camps.”  On September 2nd, the humanitarian community launched a flash appeal for US$23.7 million to fund immediate, life-saving activities but only received 16.2% (US$3.8 million) of the requested amount to date, and Holmes said “IDPs are living in critical condition and our resources are limited,” adding “money is simply not coming in fast enough to meet the requirements. I urge donors to come forward with increased contributions.”  Meanwhile, Britain Friday voiced concern at what it described as “worsening security situation in northern Yemen,” and said it would provide 2 million pounds to help IDPs in Yemen.

Sunday, 05 September 2010 16:14

SANAA, 09 Oct — In a statement published by Islamist internet websites, al-Qaeda network Friday said its operatives in Yemen “constitute an advanced front to strike oil installations in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries,” and condemned what it dubbed “perversion and immorality in Dubai.”  Al-Yaqeen press centre quoted an unidentified al-Qaeda militant as saying “we know where the next strike will be but we don’t know the timing or the purposes,” adding “the number of American fighters joining al-Qaeda is growing but for organizational reasons, we don’t reveal their numbers.”  “Many university teachers in western countries started contacting us and providing us with important information,” said the unidentified militant, adding “the families of killed American nationals also began contacting us,” and “if the entire population of Texas were to perish, we would not have done our duty to the Muslims.  We will continue to fight the Americans and will never let them go,” stressing “the US administration never represented the people and seeks to achieve its own personal interests.”  He said al-Qaeda network is “fully aware of the axiom: Fight your enemy with the weapon he fears not the weapon you fear,” adding “what al-Qaeda’s enemies fear most is a biological or chemical strike.”  Meanwhile, Interior Minister General Brigadier Mutaher Rashad al-Masri Thursday said security agencies in Yemen are “closely monitoring the movements of al-Qaeda operatives.”