SANAA: Yemen has boosted security at energy installations to guard against militant attacks, a government official said on Sunday, as Sanaa escalated its war against Al-Qaeda.
Yemen, a small oil producer with output of around 300,000 barrels per day, has come under pressure to act against Al-Qaeda since attacks on its two main allies, Saudi Arabia and the United States, by militants coming from Yemeni soil.
“The security measures have been strengthened for some time. But we took additional measures around oil institutions and the gas project in Shabwa,” the official said, adding the measures were put in place “in case of any terrorist attacks.”
Yemen’s Oil Minister Amir Al-Aidarous said energy exports were progressing smoothly and that ports and a natural gas terminal were “well-protected”.
“We have some small difficulties because most downstream and upstream oil industries are in areas ... where there is poverty,” he said. He confirmed the government was working to raise the number of soldiers at the facilities.
Other officials said fresh measures included sending extra security forces and police to guard oil and gas facilities. They said the measures were implemented on Saturday, a day after Yemen said an air strike killed six Al-Qaeda militants.
Yemen gained a reputation as a haven for Al-Qaeda after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, and came under the spotlight after crackdowns on the group in Pakistan and Afghanistan raised concerns it was becoming a training and recruiting center for militants.
The Yemen wing of the global militant network, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has strongholds in Yemen’s eastern province of Hadramaut and the towns of Maarib and Shabwa, where oil and gas fields of major international companies are located.
Yemen relies on oil revenues for 70-75 percent of public revenue and more than 90 percent of export earnings. Any interruption to that income would put pressure on the budget of an already desperately poor country that says it needs billions of dollars of economic aid.
The local headquarters of several large Western oil companies are clustered in the capital, and residential areas that house Western embassies and foreigners in Sanaa have been attacked before.
Yemen stepped up its operations against Al-Qaeda after a Yemen-based wing of the group said it was behind an attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound US airliner on Dec. 25.
Yemeni forces battling northern insurgents said on Sunday they had inflicted heavy losses on the rebels in the Saada region in recent fighting.
“The armed forces heroes managed to destroy a vehicle carrying weapons and terrorists ... and foiled attempts by these elements to obtain reinforcements and materials that had been in short supply,” Yemen’s state news agency reported, citing security sources.
The rebels, who revolted against the government in 2004, complaining of social, economic and religious marginalization, have rejected cease-fire conditions set by the government.
