Al-Qaida finding refuge in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida is taking advantage of the Yemeni battle against Shiite al-Houthi rebels to establish a stronghold in the region, intelligence officials say.

Yemen launched a major military offensive against al-Houthi rebels in the north in early August in an effort to overcome internal pressures undermining government control.

Western and regional intelligence officials, however, say the focus by the Yemeni government on internal issues allows al-Qaida to exploit the instability to create a base in the region, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Intelligence officials point to a legacy of al-Qaida activity in Yemen, as evidenced by the USS Cole attack in 2000 and the temporary refuge of Osama bin Laden.

International efforts to trounce al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan, meanwhile, may push insurgents to areas with less external military focus, witnessed by the recent collaboration of the Somali and Yemeni branches of al-Qaida.

U.N. officials, for their part, note al-Qaida may be using Yemen to help Somali rebels topple the government in Mogadishu.

Apart from that, aid groups note that the conflict, entering its seventh week, is creating mass displacement and a humanitarian disaster in one of the poorest countries in the world.