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US halts Guantanamo-Yemen moves | US halts Guantanamo-Yemen moves |
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The US has said it is temporarily suspending the transfer of prisoners to Yemen from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba. | The US has said it is temporarily suspending the transfer of prisoners to Yemen from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba. |
The move comes after it emerged the Nigerian man accused of trying to bomb a US plane on 25 December was allegedly trained by al-Qaeda in Yemen. | The move comes after it emerged the Nigerian man accused of trying to bomb a US plane on 25 December was allegedly trained by al-Qaeda in Yemen. |
More than 80 Yemeni men are to be moved from Guantanamo, as the US tries to shut down the camp. | More than 80 Yemeni men are to be moved from Guantanamo, as the US tries to shut down the camp. |
Officials fear many could re-join militant groups if sent back to Yemen. | Officials fear many could re-join militant groups if sent back to Yemen. |
"While we remain committed to closing the facility, the determination has been made that right now, any additional transfers to Yemen are not a good idea," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. | "While we remain committed to closing the facility, the determination has been made that right now, any additional transfers to Yemen are not a good idea," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. |
It was alleged last week that the Christmas Day airliner bomb plot was planned by two men released by the US from Guantanamo Bay in November 2007. | |
Mohammed Atiq al-Harbi, also known as Mohammed al-Awfi, and Said Ali al-Shihri were sent home to Saudi Arabia, where they were admitted to an "art therapy rehabilitation programme" and later set free, US and Saudi officials said. | |
Yemenis account for almost half of the nearly 200 detainees who remain at the US military base. | |
US President Barack Obama has pledged to shut the controversial detention centre in 2010, and announced last month that many of the detainees would be sent to a prison in the US state of Illinois. | |
Some will face trials in US criminal or military courts, while others are expected to be transferred abroad. | |
But Mr Obama has come under pressure to halt transfers to Yemen since investigators said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had been trained in the country to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit. |