Yemen stopped granting entry visas to travellers at its airports today to "halt terrorist infiltration," widening its dragnet against an al Qa'eda cell believed behind a spate of international attacks. The measure comes as pressure mounts on Sana'a to crack down on al Qa'eda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is entrenched in mountain redoubts east of the capital and claimed responsibility for the botched Christmas Day bid to down a US airliner over Detroit.
"Yemen has stopped granting visas at the airport to halt terrorist infiltration," the state news agency Saba announced. A military official said that "in light of this decision, granting visas to foreigners will take place only through the embassies of Yemen, and after consulting security authorities to verify the identities of travellers". This is to "prevent the infiltration of any suspected terrorist elements," he was quoted by the defence ministry newspaper September 26 as saying.
Six Yemeni airports receive international flights. There was no immediate explanation as to is being targeted with the new measure but until now very few nationalities were required to obtain visas before travelling. Earlier this week the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee released a report warning that AQAP might be training as many as three dozen Americans who converted to Islam in prison. These people travelled to Yemen upon their release, ostensibly to study Arabic, but "possibly for al Qa'eda training," the report said.
Under previous regulations, these people would have been allowed to enter the country without being previously vetted. US officials "are on heightened alert because of the potential threat from extremists carrying American passports and the related challenges involved in detecting and stopping home-grown operatives," the report added. Sana'a has been under intense international pressure to eradicate AQAP, which has claimed it was behind a number of attacks against Saudi, Korean, Yemeni, and US targets since it was founded a year ago.
In late December, Yemen launched a new military campaign against the group, claiming to have killed or arrested dozens of jihadists and their leaders. As recently as Wednesday, Yemeni jets bombed a site that was believed to be a hideout for prominent al Qa'eda members. And last week they said they had killed six AQAP leaders in an air strike, a claim denied by the group. * AFP
