Director of Aden Security said that the governorate faces risks of Al-Qaeda, armed men of the Southern Movement and other groups, emphasizing that Al-Qaeda operates without restraint in Aden.
“Al-Qaeda operates in front of everyone and security officials are sit in their homes” Major Genreral Ghasi Ahmed Ali told Alsaeeda local TV on Friday.
Yemeni experts say that the regime has not used counter-terrorism forces in encountering Al-Qaeda in Abyan and Rada’a, Ali reiterated that the US-trained counter-terrorism forces do not exist in Aden.
Ali escaped an assassination attempt by unidentified gunmen who opened fire on him, as he was returning from work earlier this week.
Yemeni politicians criticized the non-involvement of the counter-terrorism forces in encountering Al-Qaeda militants who have recently took over Rada’a, 150 kilometers southeast of the capital Sana’a.
Yemeni analysts and politicians had affirmed that Saleh and his associates planned to provoke chaos and turbulence through the use of terrorist groups with the aim of impeding the GCC-brokered transfer power deal.
According to analysts, Al-Qaeda has taken advantage of the weak central government and political turmoil roiling the nation for the past year during an anti-regime uprising inspired by Arab Spring revolts.
Yemen Prime Minister Mohammad Salem Basindiwa alleged that Saleh provided Al-Qaeda with a fertile ground to grow and expand.
“Saleh used to use Al-Qaeda to blackmail and intimidate the oil-rich neighboring GCC states, the United States and other western countries” added he.