Yemeni president warns of al-Qaeda expansion in Yemen

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Saturday warned that al-Qaida is trying to take control of the country's southern cities, at a time when the national reconciliation dialogue entered its second session. In a speech at the opening session of the second round of the Yemeni national reconciliation dialogue, Hadi said that "Yemen can no longer bear further crises," warning that further political and security problems would enable the al-Qaida terrorist group to seize more territories from the country's southern cities. "The heads of sedition and the culture of death and destruction have recently appeared in the southeastern province of Hadramout, but the heroes of our armed and security forces nipped the sedition and eliminated the heads of evil before they expand and repeat the scenario that took place in the province of Abyan," Hadi was quoted by the official Saba news agency as saying. The Yemeni army managed last week to defeat al-Qaida militants from the outskirts of the city of Ghayl Bawazir in Hadramout, which left at least 11 people dead from both sides. The Yemeni forces recaptured cities in neighboring Abyan province from al-Qaida militants who took advantage of security vacuum that coincided with the outbreak of popular protests against the rule of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh resigned in February 2012 after a year of mass protests that killed more than 2,000 people. Saleh's then deputy Hadi was elected as new president for a two-year interim period, in line with a power transfer deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and backed by the United Nations. The national reconciliation dialogue, which is part of a UN- backed power transfer deal, was launched in March 18, aiming to draft a new constitution and prepare for holding the presidential election in February 2014. About 565 representatives from political groups participate in the dialogue which is scheduled to run for six months. The opening ceremony of the second session of the dialogue was attended by UN envoy to Yemen Jamal bin Omar and GCC Secretary General, Abdul Latif al-Zayani. Bin Omar praised the progress made in the Yemeni national dialogue, stressing the success of the dialogue for building a new future for Yemen. "The Yemenis are looking to hold free and fair elections that do not reproduce the former regime," he said. For his part, al-Zayani said the Gulf countries will continue supporting the Yemeni dialogue and its consensus agreements. He said that "the GCC countries will always stand by Yemen and in a manner that preserves the unity of Yemen." The second round of the dialogue, due to run for a month, is scheduled to debate on reports filed by the representatives.