Sanaa-based NDI denies work suspension and denies any threats

Sanaa-based NDI denies  work suspension and denies any  threats

By Nasser Arrabyee, 20/01/2013

A senior official from Sanaa-based NDI said they did not suspend work and they did not receive any threats.

The deputy director of NDI, Murad Zafer, said they are working today Sunday as normal  and that they have  no plans to suspend work in the future. 

Earlier in the day, sources said the the American National Democratic Institute ( NDI) suspended work until further notice.

Some staff members said that they were told to stay at home until further notice. The staff expected to stay one week at least before they are told to resume work. 

The suspension of the NDI came after religious scholars issued Fatwas that the NDI is working against the nation and its staff are spying for the enemies of the Umma, in an obvious reference to United States and the West in general.

The inciting fatwas, published in many extremist Islamic websites, were considered as death threats especially now that the drone attacks are in rise in the areas where IND has a lot of development activities like Mareb, Al Jawf.

The suspension of NDI also came hours after at least four  drone attacks killed 9 Al Qaeda operatives in the eastern province of Mareb.

A total of 9 charred dead bodies believed to Al Qaeda operatives were buried early morning  Sunday  in two separate places  of Abeidah valley in the eastern province of Mareb, said residents who attended burials.

"The  dead bodies were buried together, because they were chopped into pieces and were so charred that they can not be recognized," said Saeed Al Yousifi from Abiedah. 

Each group was buried nearby the place where the strike happened.  Four were buried in Al Masil and five were buried in Al Shabwan.

The 9 Al Qaeda operatives were killed after US drones implemented at least 4 raids on three different places in the same area of Abiedah valley, where Al Qaeda is always active, late at night of Saturday.

In the first attack, the missiles of the drones hit an orange farm in Al Masil area instead of hitting a car carrying Al Qaeda operatives which was driving nearby the farm.

No one was hurt in the farm but some damages were inflicted on the farm and residents were terrified because the attacks were so close to their houses villages. 

In about an hour after the first raid which happened about 930 pm, the US drones hit and destroyed a car in All Rashid area which is not very far from Al Masil, and both of them are in Abeidah valley. In the car, Ismail Saeed Jamil from Abeidah and three others were killed. 

Locals said that two of these killed with Jamil were Saudi nationals.The slain  Ismail Saeed Jamil was the brother of Al Qaeda leader Ali Saeed Jamil who was killed in Abyan in the middle 2011.

For the third and fourth strikes, they targeted a car in Al Shabwan killing the Al Qaeda leader Ahmed Hassan Gharib and four other aides who were not identified because they were so charred that they can not be recognized.