Yemen is 'most failed' Arab Spring state

Yemen's Ministry of Interior Tuesday announced a toll of 155 security men killed in terrorist attacks during the last six months, including 9 officers, in addition to 665 injured in the same period. The Security Information website associated to the ministry praised "the heroism and prowess of those martyrs and wounded, whose sacrifices resulted in defeating the terrorist and criminal groups and maintaining the people's security." A massive combing operation has been launched to clear al-Qaeda militants from all areas of Yemen's southern provinces, after the militant groups retreated from their main strongholds in Abyan province. Yemini forces and popular committees of local tribes have been working together in a combined operation which started a few weeks ago in the southern region of the country. The problem now is that large numbers of militants have retreated to other areas in Yemen, to resume their old strategies of bomb attacks which target the governmental and security institutions, as well as foreign embassies and consulates, which is posing  a huge challenge to the Yemeni security apparatus. Similarly,  the country has been suffering from a critical economic crisis for several months now, due to the political tension and the deteriorating security situation. A report issued recently by Foreign Policy magazine described Yemen as "the most failed of the Arab Spring states" , with the rate of inflation in 2012 reaching 20 percent, while the growth rate failed to reach 3 percent. Half a million people were displaced from their homes due to the battles between the military and elements of al-Qaeda, while one million children are suffering malnutrition. President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi on Monday said the economic deterioration is blamed for about 70 percent of all challenges faced in Yemen. The democratic transition, under a Western-backed power transfer deal signed in November, "is going ahead according to plan, but the economy remains the greatest concern", the president was quoted as saying at a meeting with a US military delegation led by General James Mattis, Commander of the US Central Command. "The national economy has been largely affected by successive crises this past year, and the country now is in urgent need for better basic services and remedies to reduce the soaring unemployment rates," he said. There are about six million people, mainly young graduates, seeking jobs at a time when the economic situation continues to trigger more concerns about Yemen. The Foreign Policy's report said that 55 percent of Yemenis live below the poverty line, which means that they earn less than 2 US dollars a day, while 15 percent of the population endure serious problems of  food insecurity and the ratio of unemployment has reached a record of 50 percent. Political analysts believe that Yemen is not expected to overcome its political problems in the short and medium terms provided the current political tension and security crisis prevails.