Yemen says US Marines deployed temporarily

Sana’a: A platoon of US Marines sent to Yemen are on a temporary deployment and their only role will be to protect the US Embassy after it was stormed by demonstrators, a senior government official said.

The Pentagon on Friday said it had sent a platoon of Marines to Yemen after demonstrators stormed the US Embassy in Sana’a in protest over an anti-Muslim film made in the United States. A Yemeni official confirmed about 50 US Marines had arrived.

“Because of the split in the army and the security forces, we allowed a limited number of Marine forces to protect the American embassy only,” Prime Minister Mohammad Basindwa’s media adviser Rajeh Badi told Reuters.

“They are here temporarily for a limited amount of time and they will leave Yemen,” he said.

In Iraq, the 2003 US invasion was exploited by Al Qaida and other militant groups, and bitter memories of the violations committed by US soldiers and contractors during the eight-year occupation are still vivid.

Hundreds of Yemeni demonstrators stormed the US embassy compound in Sana’a last week in protest against the anti-Islam film and clashed with security forces.

No embassy staff were hurt, but the mission said it expected more protests against the film and that it would be closing its consular services on Saturday.

Yemen’s Interior Ministry said on its website on Sunday it has arrested 13 suspects involved in the attack on the embassy. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Yemen has been in turmoil since a popular uprising ousted long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh in February. President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government is trying to re-establish order and unify the army, which is divided between Saleh’s allies and foes. It faces threats from militants, southern secessionists and a rebel movement in the north.

A US ally, Yemen is the bastion of the Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, a group viewed by Washington as the most dangerous branch of the militant network established by Osama Bin Laden.

Washington, which has pursued a campaign that relies heavily drone and missile attacks against suspected Al Qaida members, backed a military offensive in May to recapture areas of Abyan province. Militants have struck back with a series of bombings and killings.