Task Force Commander in Sana’a [Archives:2007/1065/Local News]
Moneer Al-Omari
SANA'A, July 4 ) The Commander of the multinational Task Force 150 (TF 150) Admiral Alain Hinden held a conference on Tuesday in the house of the French Ambassador to Yemen Gilles Gauthier in Sana'a. He tackled many subjects and answered the different questions raised by journalists. Other aspects were touched upon by Gauthier who speaks fairly good Arabic.
Hinden made it clear from the beginning that he did not come to Yemen in an official visit, rather it was within the tasks of the TF 150, hinting he came in a large force onboard French tanker Somme now docked at Aden Harbor.
As part of his program visit, Hinden met with Aden governor Ahmed Al-Kuhlani as well as the commander of the Southern Military Division Mohammed Ali Mohsen and the commander of coast guard forces in Sana'a.
He further pointed out the multinational forces 10 warships, which most of them are not French. They are to comb the international waters in an effort to limit the terrorist acts and operations as well as securing the waters from fishermen and tradesmen. Maintaining their task is made even more successful through the cooperation of the countries overlooking their area of responsibility.
This area covers about 2.4 million nautical square miles and the ships operate throughout the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Other tasks of these forces are to preserve the free and secure the use of the world's oceans by legitimate mariners with set conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of the regional nations. They also help fight piracy and their illegitimate acts, together with assisting mariners in distress at sea.
As for the security situation in Yemen, Hinden noted Yemen, excluding the recent attack on tourists in Marib, is a secure country and the operation will not prevent them from remaining in Aden for sometime.
For his part, the French Ambassador expressed his condolences over the recent bombing of a tourist convoy which caused the death of seven Spanish tourists as well as two Yemeni guides and eight others injured, hinting it is a dangerous incident targeting civilians and guests in Yemen.
He also added he has for a long time expressed to his fellow citizens coming to Yemen that areas like Marib, Shabwa, Sa'ada, and Al-Jawf are not safe enough and should not go there, elaborating that other Yemeni areas are 100% secure.
When asked about the assistance his force can provide Yemen, Hinden indicated his force is not there for securing Yemeni regional water, but to secure the trade routes and fishing activities, adding his force's existence in the blue water would help diminish the terrorists activities in the area.
He went on to say the existing forces of Yemeni coast guards are capable enough to protect Yemeni harbors; however, they are unable to comb the long Yemeni coasts stretching over 2,000 km as such tasks need more forces, boats as well as good training which needs years.
The French Ambassador went on the same line to assure Yemeni coast guards have a short age of just five years and much time and effort is still required to upgrade and develop the performance of such a force, noting what has been achieved by this force over the last five years is fairly good.
He further assured that increasing the security cooperation between Yemen, France and Djibouti would help preserve the security of Aden Gulf and Bab Al-Mandab Strait, together with preventing the illegitimate acts like trading in drugs, smuggling and terrorist activities.
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