Yemen releases RI students held in crackdown

Yemen releases RI students held in crackdown

Yemen has released 22 Indonesian students arrested in a crackdown on foreign students attending religious schools, a security official said on Sunday.

"After interrogating the Indonesian students it was decided that they can stay in Yemen if they so desired," the official told Reuters. He did not elaborate.

Yemen, keen to rid itself of its reputation as a haven for Muslim militants, imposed restrictions last month on foreign students, teachers and Muslim clerics living in the country as part of a drive to combat Islamic extremism.

An official said last week Sanaa had begun deporting about 115 foreigners, including British and French nationals, who had been attending an Islamic school in the Marib region after being held for immigration violations.

Four British Muslim students were deported earlier in February. The student detainees also included nationals of Indonesia, Malaysia, Sudan, Jordan and Egypt.

Most had entered the country illegally while others had stayed longer than permitted, officials have said.

The cabinet has barred educational institutions from admitting foreign students who do not have special permission to study in Yemen. The restrictions also cover teachers and Muslim clerics, who are supervised by the Islamic Affairs Ministry.

Yemen recently launched a hunt on its territory for suspected backers of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group, blamed by Washington for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

The manhunt coincided with media speculation that Yemen, along with Somalia and Sudan, could be a target in a second phase of the U.S. war on terror after the campaign in Afghanistan.

Analysts said the impoverished state, still dealing with the aftermath of a 2000 suicide attack on a U.S. warship that killed 17 U.S. sailors in Aden port, is keen to clean up its image.