Yemen to receive 4 EU terrorism experts

The European Union strongly supports the Yemeni government in all areas, especially in conducting robust reforms in the military and security strategies, an EU counter-terrorism coordinator said in a news conference in Sanaa Monday. Gilles de Kerchove told reporters the EU is committed to providing suitable support to the democratic transition in Yemen and that on his visit he has met with officials including senior security leaders to discuss the EU support to the Yemeni civil and security authorities. "The EU support is bound to the commitment of all Yemeni authorities to the power-transfer deal aimed at imposing the rule of law and restoring control of the southern cities," he said, adding that Four European experts will arrive in coming weeks to help the Yemeni authorities draw up and submit the best visions to restructure the national security system from a civil perspective. The experts will be responsible for displaying and offering EU experiences in restructuring to enable the Yemeni government to conduct suitable reforms inside the local security systems, he said. Kerchove urged all Yemeni authorities to work as a team to put an end to the army division which in turn can result in better coordination with the police to fight terrorism. The remarks followed Yemeni-US talks on reforms in the Yemeni army and security systems under the transition deal. The reforms are expected to start before this year's end amid escalating calls for dismissing the relatives of former president for their posts in the army and the security systems.