YEMENI TRIBAL CHIEFS SLAM QATAR FOR FINANCING CHAOS IN YEMEN

Sana’a, 22 Jumadil Awwal 1435/23 March 2014 (MINA)  –  Yemeni tribal leaders have slammed Qatar for financing chaos in Yemen through supporting ‘terrorist organizations.’

During a gathering in the capital, Sana’a, on Saturday hundreds of tribesmen called on the government of President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi to recall the Yemeni ambassador to Doha and cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

“We demand the government immediately recall Yemeni ambassador from Doha because of the damage Qatar has caused to our country,” said lawmaker Muhammed bin Naji al-Shayif. 

The tribal leaders said Doha is hindering political progress in Yemen and is aiding “terrorist organizations” such as the opposition Islah Party, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Islah Party, the branch of Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen, is one of the groups that played a role in toppling former Yemeni dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

There is no hard evidence to link the group to terrorist organizations, but some tribesmen demand that the government place the group in the list of those organizations.

Islah represents a large portion of the current Yemeni government.

Tribes in Yemen play a major role in maintaining security in the country, but the political discourse over the past two years has sparked tribal disputes, which have often resulted in clashes in the northern part of the country.

The tribesmen participating in the Saturday gathering said Qatar was responsible for creating unrest and instability in Yemen, which is the Arab world’s poorest country.

Forty percent of the people of Yemen are living on two US dollars a day or less and one-third are wrestling with chronic hunger.  (T/E01/IR)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)