Tribes Do not Harbor Al-Harethi: Sheikh al-Okaimi [Archives:2002/03/Front Page]

Sheikh Yehya bin Ali al-Okaimi denied that Jawf or Mareb tribes play host for Qaed Sinian or suspected al-Qaeda members wanted by the government. In a statement to the Yemen Times Sheikh al-Okaimi said tribes of the region were against terrorism in all its forms, adding that the government had not so far asked tribes to help it hunt-up elements suspected to have links to al-Qaeda network.
Al-Harethi has previously accepted to surrender himself on the fulfillment of certain conditions by government, such as not extraditing him to the US government, not to be imprisoned for more that two months, as well as releasing some elements suspected to have links to the Islamic Jihad Movement and not to print his photo in the press. However, the Yemeni authorities refused his conditions.
To this end, the Yemeni army has intensified its presence in Mareb during the last weeks, as two military contingents of the Republican Guards arrived there and stationed in the capital of the governorate. Mareb had been the site of violent armed confrontations between tribesmen from Abeeda and troops from the Republican Guard leading to the death of 24 people.
On the other hand, the Yemeni authorities still hold ten sheikhs from Abeeda, accused of resisting the government troops, including sheiks Muhssain Ali Mua’ali, a member of the Shura Council in the city of Aden. Sheikhs and dignitaries of Mareb, Jawf and Shabwa released a statement in which they voiced their support to president Ali Abdulah Saleh in defending the country against any wrongdoing that may harm its interests and relation with countries of the world.


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