While the government has dismissed reports about US plans to strike al-Qaeda targets in Yemen as untrue and baseless, the Coalition of Mareb and Al-Jawf Tribes Council has warned against US military action on Yemeni tribes, saying such a move will result in bad consequences as US and other foreign interests would be affected.
US intentions to carry out land and air strikes against suspected al-Qaeda targets in the provinces of Mareb, Al-Jawf, Hadramout and Saada under a fight on terror pretext, which were reported on the New York-based official website of the United States Department of Defense, are a sever infringement of Yemen's sovereignty and violating innocent rights, the council said in a statement.
"Allowing such an act is deemed as high treason," the council said, warning of a backlash that may reach US and foreign interests if Yemeni areas are struck.
"There are no shelters and camps to house and train al-Qaeda militants in the four Yemeni provinces," said the statement which was released on the al-tagheer news website
"All reports that there are areas in the provinces where al-Qaeda terrorists are living and plotting to carry out attacks are untrue and politically motivated to win the loyalty of people at these areas by specific political parties."
Had some al-Qaeda operatives been in Yemeni areas, this never means their existence is welcomed..if there are terrorists in these areas, their staying is temporary and naturally as they are trying to escape police sight when moving from province to another in the country, the statement said.
The coalition has urged parliamentarians representing the areas, allegedly housing Al-Qaeda affiliates, to take action and form a follow-up group to summon the Ministers of Interior and Defense to make clear Yemen's official position towards such US plans.
The coalition also called on all political, public and civil forces in the country to stand up for the moves.
The coalition's statement followed a government denial that a Yemeni official had affirmed for the official website of the United States Department of Defense that the US planned to strike Al-Qaeda targets in Yemen.
An official source said reports that there was a Yemeni-US agreement to crackdown militants in the country were groundless.
Earlier, the US website reported the US Defense Ministry had planned to strike Al-Qaeda elements in eastern and northern Yemen, quoting a Yemeni official as confirming the move.