CAIRO Ñ Yemeni sources said the United States has again requested that Sanaa
host a military force to capture suspected Al Qaida insurgents near the
Saudi border. The sources said Saleh has refused the request.
The United States has continued a program to help Yemen
clear land mines near the Saudi border.
U.S. officials said the Bush administration has maintained financing of
the project, which began in 1997. They said the program has been approved
for another year of U.S. aid.
Sanaa and Washington have been discussing a larger defense package to
help Yemen fight insurgency groups aligned with Al Qaida. Yemeni President
Ali Abdullah Saleh has requested $400 million but the Bush administration
has offered less than $4 million.
On Sunday, the U.S. embassy in Sanaa said it relayed $400,000 worth of
equipment to the Yemeni government. The aid delivered to the Aden governate
included a mine-detection system and eight trucks.
An embassy statement said the U.S. aid would help provide advanced
systems as well as training for Yemeni personnel and companies. U.S.
ambassador Edmund Hall said Washington would continue to finance the
program.
Yemeni sources involved in the operation said the landmines include
those placed during the division of Yemen into a northern and southern
republic. They said up to six million mines are believed to be in Yemen,
with the lion's share in the governates of Aden, Dhamar, Ibb, Sanaa and
Ta'iz.
