Earlier this week, the Yemeni parliament unanimously rejected the presence of any foreign military forces on its soil for any reasons, demanding an immediate departure of the U.S. Marines forces.
ADEN, Yemen: The second detachment of 30 U.S. Marines has arrived Thursday on the ground in Yemen’s southern province of Lahj to back security forces and deal with counter-terrorism issues in the country’s south, a senior government official told Xinhua.
Around 30 special Marines forces arrived at the al-Anad military air base, situated in the south of the country, to conduct a joint training operation with the counter-terrorism forces of Yemen, a local government official said on condition of anonymity.
“The Marine unit arrived in addition to an earlier contingent dispatched to assist security and protect the U.S. embassy in the capital Sanaa along with its staff there,” the government official said.
“The arrival of these aircraft comes within the outline of U.S. reinforcements in the fight against the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot,” he added.
The U.S. Marines will conduct small-unit training and full company size training with Yemen’s anti-terrorism troops, according to the official.
The Pentagon said on Friday that a platoon of Marines had arrived in Yemen to bolster security at the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, a day after hundreds of Yemenis enraged by a U.S.-made film ridiculing Islam stormed the embassy’s ground. No embassy staff were hurt, but four demonstrators were killed in the attack.
Earlier this week, the Yemeni parliament unanimously rejected the presence of any foreign military forces on its soil for any reasons, demanding an immediate departure of the U.S. Marines forces.
The announcement of the Marines’ arrival has provoked an angry response from many conservative Yemenis, including clerics and political activists, who view it as a clear breach to the Yemeni Constitution and the Islamic rules and vow to stage more protests.
