Reuters, 04/05 17:25 CET
By Jonathan Saul
LONDON (Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s
Yemen branch remains a powerful force and poses a growing risk to
merchant ships in vital waterways nearby despite efforts by Yemeni
government forces and their allies to push back the group, a top officer
in an international naval force said.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
confirmed on Saturday it had withdrawn from the southern Yemeni port
of Mukalla – a week after Yemeni government and Emirati soldiers seized
the city that was used by the Islamist militants to amass a fortune.
Captain William Nault, Chief of Staff with the multi-national Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), told Reuters the gains by government forces were “heartening” and a “setback” for AQAP, but added the group still had capabilities due to the ongoing civil war.
“AQAP has taken advantage of that chaos and moved into the void. In doing so they have gotten stronger,” said Nault of CMF, whose mission includes counter-piracy and counter-terrorism in the region.
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Source: Euronews
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