Al Qaeda-linked group gives Yemen ultimatum

An al Qaeda-linked group in Yemen threatened to unleash a torrent of attacks unless the country's government pulled its forces back from a contested southern city, a spokesman for the militants said in a text message on Wednesday.

The group also demanded that people displaced by months of fighting between the army and Islamist militants over control of the city of Zinjibar be returned to their homes within ten days.

Failing that, the group will widen the scope of its operations, beginning a campaign described as a "torrential river", said Abu Hamza Jalal Baleeedi, identified as a local emir of Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) via SMS.

There was no way to verify if the text was from the militants but they have often used the method to communicate with media outlets in the past.

Militants linked to al Qaeda have exploited a year of political upheaval in Yemen to strengthen their foothold there, particularly in the south, where they have seized several towns including Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province.

Yemen's government said last September it had "liberated" Zinjibar from militant hands, but clashes between soldiers and militants have continued in the city.

THIN DISGUISE

Ansar al-Sharia is inspired by al Qaeda, but the extent of its ties with the global militant network is not clear. The Yemeni government says it is al Qaeda in thin disguise. Some analysts say it may be local militant groups at work.

Militants late last year fired shots into the air to halt a march towards Zinjibar by thousands of Yemenis protesting against the violence, which has forced them to flee their homes in droves.

Last week, a suicide bombing claimed by al Qaeda killed at least 26 people outside a presidential palace in southern Yemen on last week, hours after the swearing in of the country's newly-elected president.

In a statement posted on Islamist forums on Wednesday, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said the attack sent a "clear message" to the United States that interference in Yemeni affairs would not be tolerated.

"America's project in Yemen will never succeed, with permission from Allah, and our operations will reach the American project and its tools, with power and strength from Allah, wherever they are," the SITE online monitoring service quoted AQAP as saying.

Fearful of AQAP entrenchment in Yemen, the United States backed a Gulf-brokered deal under which veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh handed power to his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is tasked with leading the impoverished nation for the next two years.

That plan has been denounced as a ploy by the United States and oil-giant Saudi Arabia to get rid of Saleh in a sop to protesters calling for him to be ousted, whilst keeping his regime in place as a perceived bulwark against al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda is just one of a mountain of risks faced by Yemen's new president, which also include a rebellion in the north, an increasingly vociferous seccessionist movement in the south and humanitarian crisis.