Al-Qaida feeds off Yemen's civil war

MAZRAQ, Yemen, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- A civil war between Shiites and Sunnis is aiding al-Qaida's attempt to establish a regional stronghold in Yemen, authorities said.

Hawthi rebels, who are Shiites, are fighting Yemen's Sunni-ruled government for control of vast oil reserves. The situation worsened in recent days over accusations from Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia that Shiite-ruled Iran is backing the Hawthi rebels, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

The civil war is weakening Yemen's government, drawing scarce resources away from efforts to fight poverty and allowing al-Qaida militants to thrive amid the chaos, said Yahya Abu Asbu, a Foreign Ministry official and a leader of the Yemeni Socialist Party.

"The longer the war in the north continues and the longer the problems in the south continue without resolution, the more we pave the road for al-Qaida," Asbu told The Post. "Yemen will become more dangerous than Somalia."