US meddling in Yemen 'counterproductive'

Air strikes on alleged al-Qaida fighters and a doubling of US military aid to hard-line Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh have been given the green light by US military commanders despite mounting civilian casualties in a civil war between northern rebels and the government.

One US-assisted air attack on supposed rebels in Abyan last December killed more than 42 civilians, but Yemen's Deputy Defence Minister Rashad al-Alimi took three months before admitting last week that the killings had been a "mistake."

Human Rights Watch director Joanne Mariner pointed out that such attacks were "strikingly counterproductive - the US has learned the hard way that such deaths can anger and alienate people who normally would not support groups such as al-Qaida."

Although the US has declared its support for President Saleh, who is also facing a rising movement calling for the united republic to be split into two nations once again, Ms Mariner stressed that "many Yemenis fear this government more than they fear al-Qaida."

Southern separatists have demanded the restoration of the South Yemeni Republic that united with North Yemen in 1990, citing increased deprivation and discrimination at the hands of northern political leaders.

Members of the president's security forces recently raided the houses of separatist rebels in Aden, while Mr Saleh declared that "the separatist flags are going to burn in the coming days."