Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
riates working for international corporations are at a higher risk than casual tourists, but
only because they have a more set pattern of movement. Recent Al-Qaeda attacks in Ye-
men include shootings, bombings and kidnapping (for more on this see below).
Those arrested in the past for connection with terrorism have almost always turned out
to be foreign Arabs living in Yemen illegally. Again this is now changing and more Ye-
menis are now working with Al-Qaeda. The Yemeni government though, has been at
pains to express its absolute condemnation of terrorism, and the majority of Yemeni
people their disgust and horror of it.
The following are just a few of the more notable recent attacks on foreign tourists or
expatriates. In 2007 seven Spanish tourists were killed in an attack in Ma'rib; in January
2008 two Belgians were shot and killed in Hadramawt; and in 2009 a suicide attack left
four South Koreans dead in Shibam, Hadramawt. In June 2009 a group of nine expatriates
of mixed nationalities were kidnapped near Sa'da, in 2008 there were two attacks on the
US embassy in Sana'a resulting in 17 deaths and an attack on the Italian embassy. In July
2011 a British national was killed in a bomb attack in Aden. In 2012 an American teacher
was killed in Ta'izz.
Although this list makes it appear that fewer foreigners have been involved in terrorist
attacks in the past couple of years, bear in mind that this is because there are now very,
very few foreigners remaining in Yemen. In contrast hundreds of Yemenis have died in
terror attacks since 2010.
To sum up, at the time of going to print, anywhere the government allows you to travel
should be considered fairly safe (but the situation can change fast: attacks can occur any-
where at anytime and you could well be the first target in an area considered safe). Any-
where else in the country should be considered as very dangerous. Do not try any heroics.
Socotra island has escaped the violence and can be considered safe; though even here you
should still keep your wits about you. Whatever you do remember that the security situ-
ation is very fluid - check and check again with embassies, tour companies and on the
Thorn Tree forum on the Lonely Planet website.
AL-QAEDA & YEMEN
Nothing stirs excitement in media circles like Al-Qaeda, and so when, on Christmas Day 2009, an Al-Qaeda
group based in Yemen attempted to blow up an airliner over Detroit in the US, the world's media went into a
frenzy and descended en masse on Yemen.
This was far from the first time that Yemen and Al-Qaeda have been mentioned in the same sentence. In 2000
an Al-Qaeda cell blew up the
USS Cole
in Aden harbour and killed 17 US service personnel. Since then Al-
Qaeda-attributed attacks have been a frequent occurrence in Yemen and have included suicide attacks against for-
