Yemen clerics urges jihad over foreign intervention

SANAA (AFP/Reuters) - Yemens council of clerics called on Thursday for jihad if foreign troops join the war against Al-Qaeda in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, as the government vowed to eradicate the extremists.
If any party insists on aggression, or invades the country, jihad becomes obligatory,according to Islam, said a statement signed by 150 clerics read at a news conference.
Yemen declared open war on Al-Qaeda and warned its citizens against aiding the global militant group.
Security forces are launching a wide campaign against Al-Qaeda elements, and we have an open war with them, a security official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Defence Ministrys online newspaper September 26, quoting an unnamed security source, said the war was open against Al-Qaeda militants whenever or wherever we find those elements.
The source warned citizens against hiding any elements from the Al-Qaeda organisation, calling for cooperation with the security apparatus and for them to inform on any elements, September 26 said.
Yemeni security forces scoured rugged mountains for a second day using helicopters to hunt for some 25 suspected Al-Qaeda militants who fled raids on Tuesday in the southeastern province of Shabwa, security sources said. Violence also flared in a separate conflict with Shias in the north.
Yemen had already intensified operations against Al-Qaeda since a Yemen-based wing of the group said it was behind a failed December 25 attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound US airliner. But the US attack has given the campaign new impetus.
Qirbi, whose country has flirted with the idea of a dialogue with Al-Qaeda, has said Yemen also needs security assistance from the United States and other allies to help it combat Al-Qaeda, but has rejected direct U.S. intervention .
There will be no unconditional dialogue, he told Reuters, adding that Al-Qaeda members needed to renounce violence and become peaceful citizens before any dialogue could be launched.
What we can offer them is that the government rehabilitates them and we will integrate them in the communities. We will have to provide them with jobs to become effective and useful members of their social communities.
A group of hardline Yemeni clerics said they would call for jihad should foreign troops intervene in the Muslim country.
In the event of any foreign party insisting on hostilities against, an assault on, or military or security intervention in Yemen, then Islam requires all its followers to pursue jihad, the statement said, signed by 150 clerics in the capital.
Fighting has also intensified in north Yemen in recent weeks, with both Yemeni and Saudi forces pounding positions of Shiite insurgents who have fought central government since 2004, complaining of social, economic and religious marginalisation.
Pro-government Shoulan tribesmen killed 10 Shia rebels after they tried to take up positions in homes in a northern town, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday, without saying when the deaths occurred.
Tribal groups from the Shoulan rained the infiltrating gangs of destruction with a barrage of rifle fire, killing 10, the Interior Ministry said on its website. On Wednesday, 15 rebels were reported on to have been killed in separate clashes with pro-government tribesmen and in Yemeni security operations.
A Saudi defence official said on Tuesday that Saudi forces had killed hundreds of infiltrating Yemeni Shiite rebels on the Yemen-Saudi border.