Yemen will stop issuing tourist visas on arrival to foreigners to prevent militants from entering the country as it steps up its war on al Qaeda, a government official and state media said on Thursday.

The move will mostly affect visitors from Western countries including the United States, where a recent report said some US citizens suspected of training in al Qaeda camps in Yemen may pose a serious threat to their home country.
 

"In the framework of efforts by our country to fight terrorism and strengthen security measures to prevent the infiltration of terrorist elements into the country, the granting of visas at airports to foreigners will be cancelled," the Yemeni Defence Ministry's September 26 newspaper said.
 

Sanaa declared war on al Qaeda last week as pressure grew for a crackdown on the global militant group after its Yemen-based wing said it was behind an attempt on Dec. 25 to bomb a US bound passenger plane.
 

Security concerns later prompted Britain to suspended direct flights from Yemen as part of a wave of measures to tighten border security, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday, warning that militant cells were actively planning attacks.
 

Sanaa's move to cancel visas on arrival will affect tourists previously able to obtain entry visas at the airport, including those from Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan, the government official said. Visitors would now have to get visas in advance.
 

"The granting of visas to foreigners will only happen via Yemeni embassies abroad, and after turning to the responsible security apparatus to investigate the identities of travellers to bar the infiltration of suspected terrorist elements," September 26 quoted a security source as saying.
 

Visitors from countries with bilateral agreements on entry would not be affected by the new rules, including those from Egypt, Syria, Sudan and Jordan, the official said, asking not to be named.
 

Source: Reuters