Yemen opposes US military action in Iraq

US Vice President Mr Dick Cheney has won Yemen's support for Washington's drive to prevent al-Qaeda forces regrouping there.

US Vice President Mr Dick Cheney has won Yemen's support for Washington's drive to prevent al-Qaeda forces regrouping there.

But Yemen told Mr Cheney it opposed any US military action against fellow Arab nation Iraq for fear it would undermine regional stability, said an adviser to Yemeni President Mr Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"We don't want more oil on the fire," the advisor told reporters. "We need to solve the Palestinian question".

Mr Cheney held two hours of talks with Mr Saleh, including a 30-minute closed session.

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Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has overshadowed Mr Cheney's tour, as Israel this week launched its biggest military offensive in Palestinian areas for decades.

Arab countries such as Egypt and Jordan have urged the United States to play a more active role in peacemaking.

Yemen, on the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is the ancestral home of bin Laden. It was the site of the bombing of the US warship Colein October 2000 that the United States blames on bin Laden.

In Egypt, Mr Cheney won support from President Mr Hosni Mubarak, who said he would push Iraq to accept the return of United Nations inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction.