Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Saturday that his government would deploy 30,000 soldiers to secure a Gulf football tournament in November amid an escalating war with al-Qaeda, dpa reported.
"Security arrangements are tight and they include the deployment of around 30,000 army and police personnel and setting up three levels of security blocks," Saleh said after visiting construction sites of stadiums in the southern Aden and Abyan provinces.
"The terrorist elements of al-Qaeda are not a concern after they have been defeated in the (Abyan) province," Saleh said, quoted by the state Saba news agency.
He said the eight-team tournament representing the six Arab Gulf states in addition to Iraq and Yemen, would kick off as scheduled in the southern port city of Aden on November 22. The competition is due to end on December 5.
Abyan and Aden, due to host the competition, have in recent months seen frequent clashes between security forces and suspected al-Qaeda militants. The clashes have left dozens of policemen and suspected militants dead.