Yemen not after US 'hit list man'

Yemen has said it will not hunt down a US-born religious leader who has reportedly been added to the CIA's list of targets to be killed or captured.

Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, the Yemeni foreign minister, said on Saturday that his country did not receive any evidence from the US to support allegations that Anwar al-Awlaki is recruiting for al-Qaeda's offshoot in Yemen.

"Anwar al-Awlaki has always been looked at as a preacher rather than a terrorist and shouldn't be considered as a terrorist unless the Americans have evidence that he has been involved in terrorism," al-Qirbi said.

His announcement came after a powerful Yemeni tribe threatened to use violence against anyone trying to harm al-Awlaki.

Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, is beset by serious political and administrative problems.

Tribal threat

In an official statement published on Saturday after a meeting of tribal leaders, the Al-Awalik tribe, which is active in the Abyan and Shabwa regions that are important al-Qaeda strongholds, said it would "not remain with arms crossed if a hair of Anwar al-Awlaqi is touched, or if anyone plots or spies against him".

Source: Al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/04/201041115554428358.html.