Britain vows action with US against Yemeni, Somali extremism

SANAA/LONDON (AFP/Reuters) - Britain and the US will step up action to fight extremism in Yemen and Somalia, Downing Street said Sunday, amid investigations into an alleged Al-Qaeda plot to bomb a US airliner.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US President Barack Obama, who accused Al-Qaeda over the plot for the first time Saturday, also wanted to see a bigger peacekeeping force in Somalia to tackle violent radicalism in the region, officials said.
Downing Street and the White House have agreed to intensify joint US-UK work to tackle the emerging terrorist threat from both Yemen and Somalia in the wake of the failed Detroit terror plot, a statement said.
Amongst the initiatives the PM has agreed with President Obama is US-UK funding for a special counter-terrorism police unit in Yemen.
It added: In Somalia, the PM and President believe that a larger peacekeeping force is required and will support this at the UN Security Council.
Brown and Obama have discussed what to do about the situation in a series of phone calls since the alleged plot was uncovered and believe more support for Yemens coastguard is also needed, the statement added.
Brown will also ask that the situation be discussed by the European Union and push for tougher action on Yemen from the Financial Action Task Force, an international body tackling money laundering and funding for violent extremist groups.
Yemen has sent reinforcements to fight Al-Qaeda militants in its east, a security source said on Saturday as top US general David Petraeus met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The security forces and army were dispatched to the eastern provinces of Abyan, Bayda and Shabwa, hideouts of Al-Qaeda, while the alert level was raised, according to security sources in Marib, east of Sanaa.
These measures are part of operations to hunt down elements of Al-Qaeda, prevent any attempt of a response after the raids, and tighten the noose around extremists, one of the sources said.
Yemen said its forces killed more than 60 suspected militants belonging to Al-Qaeda in operations on December 17 and 24 in the countrys central and Sanaa regions.
Meanwhile, the commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, General Petraeus, reaffirmed to President Saleh his countrys support for Yemen in its efforts to fight terrorism, according to the official Yemeni news agency Saba.
Petraeus also delivered a message from US President Barack Obama related in particular to bilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism and piracy, Saba said.
Shia rebels battling government forces in north Yemen told AFP on Saturday they were ready for talks with Sanaa once the government declares a definitive end to hostilities against them.
When the war stops we will be ready for dialogue, Mohammed Abdelsalam told AFP in Dubai by telephone, adding that he was reacting to an appeal from President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Meanwhile, The Yemeni government said on Saturday it would not tolerate any terrorist activities on its territories after Somali insurgents said they were ready to send reinforcements to al-Qaeda in Yemen.
Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told Yemens news agency he was surprised at the Somali groups statement.
Rather than threatening to export terrorism to other (countries), they ought to help achieve security and stability in their own war-torn country, Qirbi told Saba News.
Somalias rebel group al Shabaab said on Friday it was prepared to send fighters to help Al-Qaeda in Yemen if the United States carried out strikes.
Yemen will not tolerate any terrorists elements on its territories and will be ready to retaliate against anyone looking to tamper with its security and stability, Qirbi said.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen branch of Osama bin Ladens network, has claimed responsibility for the attempt by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to bomb a US plane carrying 300 people on Christmas Day.
The rebel group said it was retaliating to US support for the Yemeni government. Washington has increased training, intelligence and military equipment provided to Yemeni forces, helping them stage raids against suspected Qaeda hideouts last month.
Yemeni and US officials are reported to have mulled targets for retaliatory strikes against such groups inside Yemen.
The Pentagons main publicly disclosed counter-terrorism program for Yemen grew from $4.6 million in fiscal 2006 to $67 million in fiscal 2009. That figure does not include covert, classified assistance that the United States has provided.
On Saturday, a Yemeni official welcomed British Prime Minister Gordon Browns invitation to host a meeting in London on January 28 to discuss countering radicalisation in Yemen. The talks will be held in parallel with an international conference on Afghanistan the same day.
This is a step in the right direction to intensify international efforts to support Yemens development, an official source told Saba News.
Eradicating poverty, extremism and unemployment in developing societies is the way to end radicalism and ensure a suitable environment for such phenomenon is not created.
Brown said on Friday Yemen presented a regional and global threat as an incubator and potential safe haven for terrorism.
Compounding the challenge from Al-Qaeda, Yemen faces a separatist rebellion in the south and an insurgency by rebels from the minority Shia Zaidi sect in the north.