Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes
, by Victoria Clark - a brilliant run-down on
modern Yemeni politics and tribal culture.
DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
Travelling anywhere in Yemen (except Socotra) has become a much more dicey prospect
than it was just a few years ago and most western governments warn against ALL travel
to Yemen (and note that by ignoring these warnings you may well be making your travel
insurance invalid). On the plus side petty crime, even in the big cities, is almost non-exist-
ent.
GOVERNMENT WEBSITES
»
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs
(
www.smartraveller.gov.au
)
»
French government
(
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr
)
»
UK Foreign Office
(
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country
/)
»
US Department of State
(
www.travel.state.gov
)
Mines
During the 1994 War of Unity, unknown quantities of land mines were planted. After a
sustained anti mining campaign, many have been cleared, but mines remain, particularly
around the old North/South Yemen border. During their retreat from parts of Abyan
province, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula planted numerous landmines. So far at least
3000 have been removed from around Zinibar and Jaar. It's almost certain that further
mines were laid during the recent unrest. As well as Abyan, the most likely areas for this
to have occurred are Sa'da province, Shabwa, Hadramawt and Ma'rib, but the simple
truth is that for the moment no-one really knows.
Terrorism
Yemen is the home of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. According to the US govern-
ment this is the most active and dangerous branch of Al-Qaeda. The group, which had
previoulsy been confined to remote regions that were largely out of bounds to foreigners,
used the recent chaos and the collapse of the government to expand their territory
massively. In fact at one point they were basically in control of more of the country than
the government and their influence extended almost to the doors of Aden and to within
less than 100km of Sana'a. By early 2013 they had lost a lot of ground to a resurgent Ye-
meni army but they remain highly dangerous and a major threat to the stability of the na-
tion. Al-Qaeda has vowed to kill all 'infidels' (that means you!) in Yemen and you should
keep a sharp eye out for any suspicious behaviour. It's also a good idea to be careful in
any hotels frequented by tourists - and anywhere that expatriates gather. In general expat-
