|
Yemen Expels Foreign Muslim Students VOA News 4 Feb 2002 18:45 UTC 
Yemen has begun expelling more than 100 foreign Islamic students as part of a crackdown on terror and suspected al-Qaida members.
Those being expelled include British and French nationals.
A Yemeni government official says the operation began on Saturday with the expulsion of four British Muslims who left Yemen's capital, Sanaa, for London. The official says another two are being kept in detention in Sanaa, noting that none has been charged with an offense.
The official says other students will be forced to leave the country in the coming days and weeks.
Since the middle of last month, the official said Yemen has arrested 115 Islamic students who were in the country illegally, and that all will be deported. He says the students are from Algeria, Britain, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan.
Yemen is targeting suspected terrorists in the hope of improving its image and averting a U.S. strike in America's anti-terror campaign. In 2000, terrorists with suspected ties to Osama bin Laden bombed a U.S. warship refueling in Yemen's port city of Aden, killing 17 sailors.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and DPA.
|