Not anymore.
Authorities in Yemen’s Abyan Governorate, a growing
stronghold for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, have banned motorcycles from
cities in the region’s urban centers.
"Using motorbikes in terrorist operations to
assassinate intelligence officers and security personnel have been massively
mounted over the past nine months in the province," a ‘Sana-based Yemeni
Interior Ministry official told the Xinhua news agency.
The news, first reported in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat daily, follows
a series of recent assassinations by Al-Qaeda militants throughout Abyan and
will affect some 5,000 two-wheeled vehicles, according to local media.
Militants on motorcycles have killed at least 30 Yemeni soldiers, intelligence
officers and security personnel over the last three months alone, using the
bikes to make a quick escape.
“Motorcycles are typically used by terrorists and insurgents
to deliver weapons directly if its a suicide attack or to make a quick
getaway,” Theodore Karasik, Director for Research and Development at the
Institute for Near East Gulf Military Analysis told The Media Line. “The banning
of motorcycles is indicative of how the government, with help from US officers,
is trying to cut down on the movements of Al-Qaeda members and tribal members
who support them.”
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Musa Qallab, the former program manager of
Gulf Defense Issues at the Gulf Research Center, said motorcycles are the ideal
tool for a terrorist attack.
“They are easy to rent, easy to buy and easy to use,” he
told The Media Line. “So many people drive motorcycles so it’s easy to hide,
easy to cheat and more importantly very easy to escape from the scene through
narrow passages. It’s very hard to stop them in a crowded area full of
traffic.”
Stephen Steinbeiser, resident director of the American
Institute for Yemeni Studies in the Yemeni capital ‘Saana, said the move was
long overdo.
“Motorcycles and scooters are easy to maneuver and to get
around roadblocks, so I’m surprised they didn’t think of this earlier,” he told
The Media Line. “I don’t think its a sign of desperation, I see it as a sign
that the government is taking this seriously, doing anything it can to protect
themselves, and is taking practical and creative ways to change the way they do
business and tackle a rising threat.”
Yemeni authorities say Abyan has become a stronghold for
Al-Qaeda, and earlier this month, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
threatened to assassinate 55 specific top security officers in Abyan.
Home to almost 24 million people, Yemen is one of the
poorest nations in the Middle East and the government has long had a mutually
beneficial relationship with radical Islamist groups, particularly during the
country's civil war when the northern Yemen army used radical Islamists to
fight against forces in the south.
After 9/11 the Yemeni government became more hesitant of
cooperation with Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups and last year, the government
launched a number of military operations against AQAP strongholds but has not
had the resources to develop a forceful campaign against the group.
Geopolitical analysts warn that with a weak central
government, Yemen has become the global radical militants' destination of
choice, providing an ideal staging ground for future terror attacks on Western
interests in the Gulf, the Red Sea gateway to the Suez Canal, and beyond.
Ever since the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
claimed responsibility for the attempted Christmas day bombing of a
Detroit-bound airliner, Western eyes have turned to Yemen.
The US has already been conducting covert strikes on Al-Qaeda
targets in Yemen and has pledged to double military assistance to the embattled
government.
But while the Yemeni government has shown some concern over
Al-Qaeda’s presence in the country, this is a relatively recent development
seen by many as a ploy to please the US
Beyond Al-Qaeda’s growing presence, Yemen has a smorgasbord
of problems: from a serious impending water crises and an economy overly
dependent on a dying oil sector; to Somali pirates; a secessionist movement in
the south; and rebellion in the north. With around two-thirds of Yemen under
the control of separatist groups, rebels or local tribes, the Yemeni government
is much more concerned with consolidating its power than with fighting the
growing band of radical militants in the Yemeni mountains.
