Yemeni saboteurs put on notice

UNITED NATIONS, May 30 (UPI) -- Saboteurs to political development in Yemen are under observation and will be held accountable for their actions, a U.N. envoy said.

Violence in Yemen is on the rise following a yearlong political crisis that ended early this year with the resignation of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Jamal Benomar, the U.N. special envoy to Yemen, told the Security Council that Yemen was commended for the peaceful transfer of power and for efforts to launch a national dialogue conference. Those who might spoil those advances, however, are put on notice.

"Those who encourage sabotage and obstruction from behind the scenes must know that they are being observed, that they will be held accountable and that international patience is wearing thin," he said in a statement.

Yemeni Ambassador to the United Nations Jamal Abdullah al-Sallal said security forces operating in the country were "tightening the noose" on al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which he said was the most serious threat to national security.

Terrorist attacks attributed to the group were ongoing, he said.

Benomar said a small team of political advisers was working in Yemen. Any international support, he added, should have a light footprint in the country.