Yemenis call on authorities to wage war on ISIS

Following the brutal execution of four youth in al-Bayda province, Yemeni officials and rights activists demanded that war be declared on the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) and that Yemen be purged of its presence.

In a video posted online on January 9th and circulated on social media, ISIS showed four masked men executing four handcuffed Yemeni youth at an undisclosed location in the central province of al-Bayda.

The four gunmen stood directly behind the handcuffed individuals and then shot them at close range. A masked speaker claimed that the victims were "soldiers of forces loyal to the Yemeni government who were captured in a recent attack by the group", and vowed similar executions in the future.

The incident sparked demands that the government and army take political and military action against ISIS to stymie its ability to carry out such crimes.

The government has a duty to respond to the crime and must "declare war on terrorism, represented by ISIS", said Adel al-Shujaa, a member of the General Committee of the General People's Congress Party (GPC).

"A law also must be enacted to punish anyone who aids or abets a terrorist," he told Al-Mashareq, adding that "the victims' families must demand that the government pursue the perpetrators of this crime".

Likewise, he added, "the community must realise it will be targeted [by groups like ISIS] if it does not co-operate with the government".

Information and tip-offs provided by members of the public to the authorities will help security agencies apprehend the perpetrators, al-Shujaa said.

Curbing extremism, violence

Deputy Minister for Endowments and Guidance Sheikh Jabri Ibrahim called on all state agencies and the security forces to carry out their duty of fighting ISIS.

"ISIS is distorting Islam and killing in the name of Islam while Islam is innocent of it," he told Al-Mashareq.

Ibrahim called on all military and civil state agencies and members of the community to strive to "curb the extremism, violence and terrorism unleashed by this group against the people of Yemen".

The Yemeni government does not have control over all parts of the country, due to the strong presence of tribal, extremist and partisan groups, journalist Munir Talal told Al-Mashareq.

There are many forces present on the ground, and they coalesce and clash based on their interests, he said.

These include the Southern movement, extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, and tribal and territorial groups, he said.

Due to the presence of these various armed forces and their conflicting agendas, "the return of the legitimate government will take some time", he added.

"Delivering a decisive blow to ISIS and other extremist forces requires a strong state that operates on all levels: political, social, military and intelligence," he said.

Shock over ISIS executions

Deputy Minister of Human Rights Nabil Abdul-Hafeez said he was shocked to see the video that showed ISIS elements executing the four youth with such unspeakable brutality.

"The way the four youth were killed with shots to their heads through their eyes was unbearable to watch," he told Al-Mashareq.

"What I saw makes it imperative that everyone, including the government, citizens and society repudiate this terrorism, the hired killers and the monsters who still exist among us," he said.

"We need a revolution against terrorism, and ISIS is the real unmasked face of terrorism," Abdul-Hafeez added.

"It is incumbent upon all the people of Yemen to unite and co-operate to stop all this terror and criminality, put an end to Yemen’s tragedy and purge our country of terrorism," he said.