Yemen beefs up security over fear of attacks

Source: AFP 18/04/2010
SANAA — Yemen has beefed up security measures around embassies and the country's strategic infrastructure due to the threat of attacks, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

Without mentioning any specific threats, the ministry said it had instructed security officials both in Sanaa and elsewhere "to reinforce security around vital installations and embassies."

The ministry has asked officials to give daily reports on security precautions at the country's oil facilities, concentrated in the southeast and considered to be an Al-Qaeda stronghold.

The ministry also inspections of security units "to prevent any attacks" on the country's strategic infrastructure and "to prepare for any eventuality."

A source at the ministry said the units responsible for protecting oil facilities in Shabwa, Maarib and Hadramut provinces have been replaced by units that last week completed their training in counter-terrorist operations by Jordanian instructors.

Yemen has intensified operations against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group's local arm, since December, with the United States reportedly supplying intelligence and other support for the operations.