Three Yemeni boys were killed by Ansar al-Sharia on their way to school. Above, children look out of the bars of their classroom in Hodeidah province. [Khaled Abdullah/Reuters]
The deaths of three Yemeni children -- killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) on their way to school Sunday morning (April 15th) -- have been met with widespread official and popular condemnation in Yemen.
Angry residents say the act, blamed on al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia, runs contrary to true Islam and Yemeni customs and traditions.
Al-Qaeda planted a timed IED -- a barrel packed with explosives and a gas cylinder -- on the side of a road in Qatn city in Hadramawt province, the Yemeni Defence Ministry reported on its website.
The bomb exploded as the children were walking to school, killing brothers Bilal Nasser and Saleh Nasser Ali bin Jazlan and their classmate Naji Mubarak Bashdad, all between the ages of 11 and 12 years old.
"We condemn and deplore all acts of terrorism, but this crime is particularly heinous because it targeted children," said Omair Salem Omair, undersecretary for the Wadi and Sahara directorates of Hadramawt province.
The provincial leadership has received angry reactions to the incident from many residents of Hadramawt and other provinces, all calling for the defeat of these terrorist groups, Omair told Al-Shorfa.
"The manner in which this operation was carried out reveals the barbaric nature of terrorist groups. Its perpetrators are not human beings and have no connection whatsoever to Islam and must receive severest punishment," he said.
Those who kill innocent people, whether children, men or women, are devoid of all human moral values, said Ahmed Arman, a lawyer and human rights activist with the National Organisation for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD).
Such terrorist acts are "deplorable and reprehensible and whoever does not condemn them is injudicious because he would be aligned with deviant inhumane ideas about the nature of human beings and their right to life and peace," Arman said.
Arman called on the government to take tough measures to eradicate the group, which he said violates rights, religion and all local and international laws.
Targeting children is a "revolting crime" and the starkest violation of the rights of children and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, said Raja al-Musaabi, president of the Arab Human Rights Foundation.
"This crime violated the most vital childhood right, and that is the right to life, which in the case of these children who have nothing to do with anything, was forcibly stolen from them," she told Al-Shorfa.
The recklessness of extremist groups has induced them to kill innocent people and violate the provisions of sharia, al-Musaabi said, calling on scholars, clerics and media professionals to intensify educational efforts to combat terrorism and prevent more violence.
"Armed groups that speak in the name of religion are addicted to the use of mines and time bombs in their operations against innocent people, especially children, as is the case with al-Qaeda in Hadramawt and Abyan," said Abdul Salam Mohammed, head of the Abaad Studies and Research Centre .
The entire community must stand up to these groups because what they did was "a heinous crime proscribed by local and international laws" and all religions, especially Islam, he said.
"These groups are losing support among the population by the day for their random killing of children and innocent people in general," Mohammed said.
"Islam forbids the shedding of Muslim blood in general, let alone children killed on their way to school, which makes this a most heinous crime deplored by scholars and all segments of society," Sheikh Zayd bin Abdul Rahman, chairman of the Al-Noor Centre for Study and Research, told Al-Shorfa. "We must not stop at condemning it, but mobilise efforts to confront this danger."
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READER COMMENTS
علي
2012-6-5
This is a cowardly act that has nothing to do with religion, manners or humanity. Those who committed this act are nothing but beasts. The Arab and Muslim nation has to stand against them, i.e. oppose them, because those people and their likes have defamed the real bright image of Arabs and Islam.
عبدالرحمن
2012-5-28
The fact that al-Qaeda is targeting civilians is a grave criminal act against humanity. What is happening in Yemen is not promising, since the situation over there can escalate and subsequently Yemen will start suffering from bigger security problems, particularly in light of the current problems including poverty and chaos. Al- Qaeda’s activities are unacceptable under any law or religion, and what is happening in Yemen is a tragedy in every sense of the word. This is particularly true knowing that the security is completely undermined and security forces are facing shortages in supplies that would have otherwise helped them face up to al-Qaeda’s activities. There must be coordination in terms of security to eradicate al-Qaeda completely. Every day that passes with the presence of al-Qaeda in the country makes citizens pay dearly for such a presence. However, no wonder that a movement notorious for committing such crimes throughout the world will do the same locally. Al-Qaeda is notorious for perpetrating crimes and wreaking havoc in the world and, of course, no Muslim can condone their actions against our fellow Muslims in Yemen. Yemeni society has been suffering for several years from poverty and humiliation, and does not need further destruction in its nation.
مؤمن حميد
2012-5-26
What is the guilt of the child who left his house to go to school to be killed in a bombing? What is the guilt of the employee who left his house to make living and to feed his family to be killed by the terrorists? The terrorists made all people hate them strongly in Iraq, because they committed the worst crime ever, when they targeted the civilians, the mosques, the Shiite mosques, churches, universities, schools, hospitals, funeral sessions, weddings, travelers, and everything in Iraq. The fact is even worse because they deliberately try to leave their destructive fingerprints over it. They leave all their hatred and grudges and carry out the most malicious ideas when committing any crime and they mutilate the bodies and rape the women and children. I think that the Iraqis will never forget these issues. We thank God who provided the Iraqi forces with victory to crush these criminal and takfiri groups that must be confronted strongly.
ابو علي
2012-5-23
I cannot see any reason for killing and shedding the blood of innocent children. How do they believe the holy war justifies the killing of little children who have no experience in life? Is this fair? Is this the Jihad they are talking about? These groups have tarnished the image of Islam abroad. Their despicable behavior made others believe that Muslims are mere terrorists. In fact, Islam has nothing to do with their behavior. Our religion does not preach the unjustified killing of the innocent. The terrorist movements have offered nothing but death and destruction. Besides, these movements are all funded by foreign parties in order to undermine our security and stability. I supplicate God to protect us all from those who seek to hurt us.
الحداد
2012-5-23
Yemen had suffered greatly from the previous conditions that happened during Ali Abdullah Saleh and now with the presence of the cowardly terrorists. The most important thing is that Yemen is suffering from a more serious stage and those who call themselves Ansar al-Sharia are disbelieving people who do not want goodness for Yemen or the Yemeni people at all. I am against all the mean terrorist operations that happen in Yemen because of them and these matters will not be repeated in the near future, God willing. I only want the Yemeni people to do their best so as to be more cautious against these malicious and damned groups. The next days will carry all the goodness for us, God willing.
ايهاب
2012-5-22
I call Allah to have mercy on our martyrs in Yemen and let them rest in peace. They are in heaven, alive with their Lord. They have provisions; they were killed without any guilt. All they wanted was freedom and to live and get their rights as ordinary people and they do not want from life more than that. O Allah, inspire their parents and families with patience and fortitude. There are many victims who have fallen due to the acts of bullying that we do not know what their interests are and why they killed these helpless innocent people. O Allah, have mercy on them. O Allah, bring them to an entrance of sincerity and bring them to a way out of sincerity. O Allah, purify them from sin as a white dress is cleaned of pollution. O Allah, extend their graves. O Allah, protect all the innocent people from these criminal operations; such terrorist operations occur and are implemented with or without the knowledge of the governments. O Allah, make them intercessors for their families on the Day of Resurrection. O Allah, forgive them and have mercy on them; you are the most merciful, O Lord of the universe. O Allah, unite the tribes of Yemen under one banner against al-Qaeda, which is considered the number one enemy of all the people of Yemen because many inhabitants of southern Yemen emigrated to neighboring countries and because of it poverty in Yemen has increased.
ابو راشد
2012-5-22
These groups caused a lot of psychological and moral harm to many of the people of Yemen. We all know that the Ansar al-Sharia are one of the pillars of the movement of al-Qaeda in Yemen. The operations of the Ansar al-Sharia increased its destructive acts in an unnatural way in Yemen. The terrorist operations have become very chaotic and the innocent civilians are paying the price of those treacherous operations. Why are those groups doing those acts of sabotage against the civilians? Why do they kill innocent people? If they have retaliatory objectives, then what is the guilt of these innocent people? But, unfortunately, they are weaker than they seem.
ابو شيرين
2012-5-22
These groups, if they are strong and are working to support righteousness, let them appear and fight in front of the eyes and ears of everyone. It is the height of cowardice to plant a bomb or send a suicide bomber to blow himself up in the middle of unarmed people. Why are they targeting civilians? Is it logical to achieve their goals in that unorganized way? Is this Jihad? Did Islam urge us to kill Muslims? Islam told us that it is forbidden for any Muslim to kill a Muslim. Do they really apply Islam? Those who carry out those heinous acts do not deserve to be named Muslims. Islam denies them; I hope that the consciences of these people would be awakened in order to stop the continuous bloodshed there. They have killed many people; how can they sleep and they are killers? Did they not ask themselves if what they are doing is wrong? How would they feel if the one that was killed is part of their families? They must strive to think for a little while about they've done.
سليم حلمي
2012-5-22
Yemen is living in the present, very difficult circumstances after all the problems experienced by the Yemeni people and the compelling conditions that are spread in this community such as poverty, unemployment, the difficulty of earning a living and underdevelopment, in addition to the problems of terrorism, which established the spread of terror and fear among the civilians while they watch all of these brutal crimes committed everyday by the organization of the so-called supporters of Sharia, who are not aware at all about what Islam is and what religion is after they went deeper in committing massacres and crimes which anger Allah and His Messenger and the believers because such heinous criminal acts do not represent the religion, as they tried with their rude and ugly actions to show to others that they are doing all of these acts for the sake of religion of Islam and for Muslims. The supporters of Shariaa are just a terrorist organization that tried to beautify themselves by taking such a quality and such a name, which does not apply to them as they are the hidden face of the terrorist al-Qaeda and the acts of this atoning group are criminal and cowardly acts that are contrary to Islam and its teachings because Islam does not accept that humans are exposed to all these atrocities. By what right are the throats of innocent civilians cut and their hands cut off? And by what right is the dignity of people plundered and their honor robbed by this debased and dirty organization?
سالم ناصر
2012-5-17
Yemen is the country most affected among the Arab States by what happened, and there is a group calling itself the Islamic law supporters who are carrying out acts that cannot be tolerated and are inconceivable. I want to say that what is happening in Yemen is enough and these malicious groups are now killing people without any pain of the heart. There are a lot of people who have endured many tragedies, and such crimes are a disaster in themselves because they lead to the killing of many innocent people. The Yemenis are constantly exposed to thousands of kinds of beatings and cruelty. This despicable movement wants to have total control over the situation. The offenses of the supporters of Islamic law are impossible to imagine, and they are committing very heinous acts and cannot be tolerated. The Supporters of Sharia are part of al-Qaeda, who does what they can in order to do the killing of all the innocent people. I want to say that the Yemeni people are poor people and cannot bear more and more pain and problems. We want to find a solution for them and to solve their problem. They have to know that they are right and not with those vile and malignant groups. O Allah, my Lord, make their suffering severe among themselves and they would not have one good day in Yemen. Those acts undertaken by them are heinous acts, which could make Yemen among the deplorable countries, God willing, Lord of the universe, and all the good luck and success for the Yemeni people. God willing, victory is near and Allah is the helper.
Haso223
2012-5-12
There is no link between the criminal thought of terrorism and the thought of the tolerant Islamic religion. As terrorism and its ideas are far from the Islamic religion, nevertheless the terrorists take cover for their crimes under the pretext of jihad. However, Islam does not call for Jihad in this way such as killing innocent people and sand blasting women and orphaned children, but Islam called to preserve them from any harm. Also, the Islamic religion and Islamic thought forbid killing innocent people even if they were non-Muslims and calls for tolerance between religions, and to stay as brothers and the recognition of the rest of the religions, as they have divine books as we have the Qur’an. The real Jihad in Islam calls for construction and reconstruction and the challenge of difficult situations with patience and not by destruction, sabotage, bombings, assassinations and other crimes carried out by terrorists.
تغريد السامر
2012-5-12
In the name of Allah, first before construction, biology and the other, after my brothers in God and religion that we have in the Messenger of Allah and his companions along the lines of good and not one of us has browsed the pages of history and looked at the profile of the Messenger of Allah (p) and the companions in the door of Jihad. Our Prophet is the Prophet of humanity and was the first commander of the armies of the Muslims in the fight against polytheism, and the Prophet (p) was fighting and did not combat it on the ground. He did not destroy corruption or even the prisoners, he did not kill any one of them. Even the trees, he did not cut them. Where is our jihad prophet of humanity? I am at the hands of both armies who fight the occupiers, but I refuse to shed innocent blood and settle political scores under the pretext of jihad. I look into the history books, biography of the companions in the conquests of Islam. You shed blood unjustly and destroyed. Do you kill the innocent? No. In whose hand? However, they were a mercy for the peoples who entered the home, prompting these people to enter Islam. So where are we and where is our jihad and the jihad of peace?
فائز عطا الله
2012-5-11
Al-Qaeda is among the terrorist organizations which work in public. In fact, all people know that it adopts a radical ideology and foreign agendas based on implementing the theory of extremism and intellectual deviation. The latter are predicated on the indiscriminate killing in the targeted areas. They believe in the principle of using excessive violence and force in order to achieve their evil objectives without paying heed to the social classes. They claim the lives of innocent people, either children leaving schools, women who go shopping, or other people in the crowded places, in addition to many other things which are planned. They consider religion as the reason, the means and drive in order to brainwash people. They confuse their concepts and ideas and influence some members who are characterized by their weakness and their easy manipulation and mainly teenagers. The latter have fallen prey to drug-addiction and psychological disorders or hopelessness. Moreover, others have been subject to psychological complexes and thus they think that death is the means to get rid of it. Furthermore, the objectives of al-Qaeda that it wants to achieve in the Arab region contradict the teachings of religion which call for solving conflicts through dialogue, consultation and thus reaching the right opinion which serves the interests of all people.
صبرية حافظ
2012-5-4
Certainly, committing these works will lead to more hatred and rejection of the deviant organizations on part of the people. However, they will not affect the determination of the people through such bloody acts. This requires opening channels of cooperation with the security forces in order to unify the efforts to stand in the face of all terrorists despite their different names and eliminate them through detecting their movements and watching the strangers and suspects and reporting this to the security services in order to allow them to attack their hideouts on time to arrest them and kill all those who resist the security forces until we crush them strongly, so that security and stability be restored away from the violence and fear. We must target the innocent people so that the people focus on construction and renovation of the infrastructure that was destroyed by the terrorist acts.
بشير
2012-4-30
The terrorist attacks threaten the future of the country and its innocent citizens, therefore, we pray to God to avenge them through retaliation and to make them accountable for what they are doing and have already done through bombings, threatening the security of citizens and terrorizing their own security. And we pray to God Almighty to take revenge on those terrorists, and that God's wrath will be upon them, and may Allah grasp them with the grasp of the almighty, the powerful, and inflict upon them those who don’t have mercy on them. And may Allah grant victory to these innocent people and preserve the country's Muslims and assure their safety against the clutches of terrorism and we all pray to Allah to send the guise of goodness and security to them and save them from their enemies and tyrants, to bring rulers who will improve their business, alleviate their suffering, safeguard their borders, take care of their children and their security. O Allah, you are the mighty avenger; take revenge on the terrorists and get their necks in fetters, O Lord of the Worlds.
سماح
2012-4-28
This thing is not working.
خالد
2012-4-23
It gives goose bumps.
محمدفرج ابراهيم محد
2012-4-23
I'm against terrorism anywhere in the Muslim world!
armando_lebanon
2012-4-23
This is their culture, the culture of killing for fun. They are a group of mentally ill people, eccentric and criminal by nature… They are brought up on the culture of beards and the darkness of thought, and Islam is innocent of them. May God, angels and people curse them until the Day of Judgment, the day when they will enter Hell in groups!
منى
2012-4-22
God is sufficient for me, for He is the Best Disposer of affairs!
Fayrouz
2012-4-22
Al-Qaeda does not exist. This is the fantasy of America and Israel. They are the criminals. Arabs, America is Israel. It is time to wake up, O people of the cave, O Muslims!
ايهاب الشاذلى
2012-4-21
This is an ugly crime and everybody has to cooperate against the criminals and educate the society about this act being prohibited.