Commandos being sent to guard Indian Mission in Yemen
December 19, 2010 17:16 IST
India has decided to send over 100 specially trained commandos to protect its mission in Yemen amid rising threats from terror groups including Al Qaeda in that country.
The deployment of Indian securitymen in the Middle Eastern country comes at a time when the government has ordered
"maximum security" for Indian Missions and other assets in Afghanistan in the wake of a heightened threat from Taliban
and other Pakistan-based terror groups which could carry out a wave of attacks, including car bomb blasts.
The Indian Embassy in Yemen and its Chancery are located in the southern part of the country at Sana.
The elite contingent, drawn from paramilitary force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), will be deployed soon at the Embassy after necessary clearances from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), official sources said.
The personnel have been trained in VIP, mobile and static security duties and would also deliver technical support responsibilities, they said.
An assessment report on the present security situation in context of the Embassy and the deployment of the commandos has already been forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the sources said.
The almost 40000-personnel strong SSB guards the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders and is a vital intelligence
gathering force at these 'open' borders.
A decision was taken on the deployment of Indian guards to Yemen after a need was felt to protect the Embassy from any
possible terror or militant strike, they said. The contingent has also been trained in vehicle driving, unarmed combat and providing proximate security to the officials and staff of the Indian Embassy.
The Yemeni government has been fighting against Houthi rebels in the North of the country since 2004 and the fighting, which originated in Saada, has spread to the neighbouring areas of Al-Jawf, Amran, and Hajja.
The US State Department has been regularly warning of threats from terror groups like Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which claimed responsibility for many attacks in that country.
Indian commandos mainly drawn from CISF are already posted to guard the Indian Mission in Afghanistan which is
facing high threat from terror groups.
Neelabh Srivastava in New Delhi © Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
