Yemen in Crisis HARDtalk

HARDtalk is on the road in southern Yemen amid worrying signs that Al-

Qaeda is spreading its influence in one of the most strategically vital

corners of the Middle East. Significant territory is now in Al-

Qaeda's hands. Is Yemes. Is Yeme become one of the world's most

Aden, a port city. It was ruled by British colonialist until the 1960s.

Since 1990, the second city has been a part of a united Yemeni

Republic. The calm is deceptive. Beyond the confines of the city, a

violent insurgency is gaining ground. I am on the main road

heading due east. There are reports of continuing

fighting between government forces and Islamist fighters in the

capital. Can we get there? Is the government really in control of its

own territory? No more than 15 kilometres away, we

We were ordered out of our vehicle. The local commander told us we

Despite the road blocks and the sporadic fighting, we were able to

get these pictures of the situation The Yemeni military attacks have

In the past, the insurgency has spread across south-east Yemen.

With the extraordinary weakness of the central government, militant

fighters have extended their territory to within 150 kilometres

of the capital. Al-Qaeda have become the most potent offshoot of

You have to do what you have to do. An American born militant was

assassinated. But his demise did little to halt the insurgency. Here

is why. The state has crumbled in the face of a people powered

uprising inspired by the Arab Spring. For months, the government

has been leaderless and riddled with bitter divisions. The

President has finally relinquished his grip on the country but his

family and allies still hold many In the past, the President used the

Al-Qaeda threats as a means to garner Western support. Many

believe the same game is being played. This man is a tribal leader

with family ties to Al-Qaeda insurgents. He and his entourage

have been involved in at its to The Yemen government says it is

fighting a war against and cried out. If it is a war, whose side are

The reason I ask you about Al-Qaeda is because you do have closer links

with people who were in and are in You are also linked by family to an

important figure in Al-Qaeda today. Many people believe you have

sympathies with these people. Do What we know about the situation is

that for years the US have offered military support to the President,

and right now flying drones are being used to kill Al-Qaeda targets.

What do you think of that US In your heart, do you believe there

can be peace and freedom in this country as long as there are a

significant number of militants Do you believe Al-Qaeda in Yemen

today are getting stronger or The Al-Qaeda insurgency has

generated a new humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest country.

In Aden, only emergency relief is keeping a wave of displaced people

alive. The Yemeni state is failing many of its people. None more so

than the almost 200,000 who have been forced to flee continued

fighting between Islamists, Al- Qaeda linked forces and government

troops. It would be tough for any country to deal with such an influx

but for Yemen it is proving almost impossible. This place is now home

to more than 1,000 displaced people. The UN refugee agency is doing what

they can but meagre resources are being stretched to breaking-point.

Refugees like this man and his family feel trapped.

What were your feelings when you realised you had to leave your

As the war came closer to your home, What has it been like for you in

the last few months, living as a You have seven children. You are

living in difficult conditions in a school which is not designed to be

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 58 seconds

a place for families and refugees. It sounds like you are very

disappointed in your own national security forces. You do not feel

they defended your village or your Visitors to the UN refugee agency

compound in Aden must pass through exhaustive security. Defences are

being reinforced. Yemen desperately needs outside help but delivering

it is a hazardous business. Explain where we are right now. We are

outside the UN office in Aden from where we run our operations in the

south of the country. That includes the operations of the new arrivals

from the Horn of Africa, displaced people, and any other activity

which is related to displacement in the south. We are outside the UN

headquarters in Aden. Why does it look like a fortress? Because we

are not working in a normal environment. It is very challenging.

The security situation is difficult. It is our responsibility...

Personally it is my responsibility to ensure minimal security and

safety standards for my colleagues. Your job is to reach out to people

and offer humanitarian assistance to some of the most wretched people

in this country. The bunker mentality, it seems to work against

what you are trying to do. That is an important point that you make.

Having said that, our job is to work with people. We co-ordinate

activities from these offices. Every day, my colleagues are out

there in the refugee camps. They are at the settlements. From this

location, our job is to co-ordinate the activities. This is part of our

work when we are working in a situation where you have several

conflicts going on. Access is an issue. I was like to communicate to

the leadership of this country at all levels to allow us and to

provide all possible access for humanitarian work to be done.

saying that, are you suggesting that the Yemen government is not

offering full co-operation? They have been co-operative with the UN

and the international community but they have their own challenges. It

is not a secret. The country has been going through several

conflicts. It has made things difficult for the government to

facilitate the work of the international community. I suspect

you are trying to be diplomatic. You are saying this is a failing

state. I would not go that far. you have to if it is impossible for

you and your workers to reach some of the people because it is too

dangerous, the insurgency is too strong and the roads are too unsafe.

Despite all those difficulties, we are able to reach most of the

people who are in need. The bigger challenge at present for us is the

resources. Yemen is going through a serious humanitarian crisis. The

world attention is almost... This crisis is being overlooked and

ignored. The question is, why? The answer is that the world attention

is going to the political issues and not to the humanitarian issues.

The fallout that the political crisis has created for this

humanitarian situation... We are concerned that we will see a new

Somalia in the making. A new Somalia? In humanitarian terms.

you saying to me that the sort of total breakdown in a state, in a

society that we have seen in Somalia could be visited upon

Yemen? If Yemen is not helped by the international community at this

Perhaps comparisons with Somalia are inevitable. After all, Yemen

lies just across the Gulf of Aden. Yemen's strategic value is much

higher. The coastline runs for 1,500 miles along some of the most

strategic sensitive waters in the world. Terrorists, pirates and

refugees, all of them pose a threat to Yemen's security. The coastguard

service is to combat that threat. They only have three dozen boats.

The West has offered Yemen's government military backing, from

US drones to UK Navy personnel training the coastguards. But as

the country descends into chaos, there is a question - has any of it

worked? Welcome to HARDtalk. What is the number one problem?

According to the increase of piracy action in the area up, that is our

major concern. In addition to the situation going on in Somalia.

We're closing the shore to suspicious people. When you talk

about suspicious people, we know there has been a number of

statements from a movement in Somalia saying they will help their

brother fighters, the Islamist Jihad fighters. Are you seeing them

come into Yemen? There are so many attempts. They want to come to

Yemen. But with co-operation with the Yemen coastguard and the Navy,

they are doing a good job. They are doing their best to stop it.

talk a very good game. But you have 30 boats in your entire fleet. You

do not have great resources. There is a massive problem. How can you

guarantee security? With co- operation with the international

community, Yemen can do the best job. There are some people who

believe that Yemen is a failing state, if not a failed state. They

look at the security institutions and they say they do not work, they

are not capable of ensuring security. You are in the coastguard,

you are a lieutenant. How do you respond to the charge that you are

a part of a failing security state? Failure, I think it does not exist

in the real life of Yemen, failure is in their minds. We are confident

we are doing our jobs. Yemen faces so many problems. But it is moving

forward. We have the encouragement and the confidence that we are

attacking in the correct part and we are doing the right things. We

are doing our best with our limited resources. We need support from the

international community. Yemen's internal fault lines run

deep. The sun has set on the President's rule, but powerful

internal forces are pulling the nation apart. In Aden, they have

lived with insecurity for generations. The rise of Al-Qaeda