Local Editor
The Financial Times reported that Yemen, ravaged by war and with a devastating famine looming, is an ideal refuge for ISIS militants fleeing Iraq and Syria.
Elisabeth Kendall in her article titled “War-torn Yemen may attract jihadi fighters from Syria and Iraq” states that “the conflict between the Houthi Ansarullah movement and the Saudi-backed Hadi militants is “increasingly taking on a sectarian dimension”.
Kendall adds that the involvement of Saudi Arabia on the side of Hadi “is fuelling the hate-filled narratives favored by militant jihad.”
This poisonous climate, the rugged topography of Yemen, the security vacuum left by an absentee government residing in Riyadh, the weakening of tribal social glue as internally displaced people move east, rampant smuggling networks and a vast and porous coastline all result in a “pocket of instability to which ISIS fighters can flee.”
Kendall adds that “the conflict in Yemen is boosting the appeal of militant Islamist extremism at precisely the time when Isis fighters in Syria and Iraq may be casting around for a new home.”
The author concludes her article by saying that “the longer the conflict drags on, the more fertile the breeding ground for jihad.”
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
