State of emergency as rebels threaten Yemen

Authorities in the troubled nation – which some western analysts fear could be the "next Afghanistan" – are currently fighting a local branch of al-Qaeda, Shi'ite extremists and breakaway rebels in the south.

A government official in the capital Sana'a yesterday said a state of emergency had been imposed on the city of Dalea "to guard against acts of violence that outlaws are intent on carrying out in the city". The term "outlaws" is usually used by officials to refer to separatists.

The official added: "The move is aimed at securing the lives of citizens and maintaining security and stability after reports of the entry of armed elements to the municipality to carry out conspiratorial plots, disturb the peace and harm the public interest."

Western governments and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, fear al-Qaeda is exploiting instability on several fronts in Yemen to recruit and train militants. The plot to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day is believed to have been hatched in Yemen.

People in south Yemen, home to most of the country's oil facilities and its main port, Aden, complain that northerners have abused a 1990 deal uniting north and south to grab resources and discriminate against them.

Tension flared in the south after one separatist was killed and six injured when police opened fire at a demonstration on 13 February. Police later clashed with demonstrators who came to claim the protester's body, igniting a week of unrest. Security officials have since launched sweeps in which at least 130 people were arrested across four southern provinces, including Dalea. Officials said a curfew would be imposed in Dalea from dusk under the state of emergency.

"The decision includes the closure of all main and side entrances to the city, prevents the entry of outlaws and bars demonstrations or unlicensed gatherings," one official said. A policeman was shot dead in a city near Dalea on Thursday, the government said.