44 killed as Yemen forces clash with al-Qaida group
Source: Agencies |
April 10, 2012, Tuesday
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AT least 44 people were killed yesterday when fighters from an al-Qaida-linked group attacked a military camp near the southern Yemen city of Lawdar.
The fighting erupted when fighters from Ansar al-Sharia launched a dawn attack on the camp, which is in Abyan Province, about 120 kilometers from the southern port city of Aden.
The group seized control of a significant amount of territory in Abyan during the turmoil that led to the replacement of President Ali Abdullah Saleh by his deputy, a deal that Saudi Arabia and Washington hope will prevent al-Qaida from getting a foothold near key oil shipping routes.
The conflict with Islamists in the south is only one of several challenges facing the new President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who took office vowing to fight al-Qaida, only to have more than 100 soldiers killed in a series of attacks in his first days in power.
Eighteen fighters were killed in yesterday's clash with the army and six when warplanes bombed a checkpoint they were holding, officials and residents said. Thirteen soldiers and one tribesman fighting alongside them were also killed.
A military official said the army drove the fighters away from the area around the camp. The militants said in an emailed statement that none of their fighters was killed in the clash, and threatened to attack Lawdar.
Yemen's main airport in the capital, Sanaa, was paralyzed for a day after Hadi sacked the air force commander, a relative of Saleh, on Friday.
The fighting erupted when fighters from Ansar al-Sharia launched a dawn attack on the camp, which is in Abyan Province, about 120 kilometers from the southern port city of Aden.
The group seized control of a significant amount of territory in Abyan during the turmoil that led to the replacement of President Ali Abdullah Saleh by his deputy, a deal that Saudi Arabia and Washington hope will prevent al-Qaida from getting a foothold near key oil shipping routes.
The conflict with Islamists in the south is only one of several challenges facing the new President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who took office vowing to fight al-Qaida, only to have more than 100 soldiers killed in a series of attacks in his first days in power.
Eighteen fighters were killed in yesterday's clash with the army and six when warplanes bombed a checkpoint they were holding, officials and residents said. Thirteen soldiers and one tribesman fighting alongside them were also killed.
A military official said the army drove the fighters away from the area around the camp. The militants said in an emailed statement that none of their fighters was killed in the clash, and threatened to attack Lawdar.
Yemen's main airport in the capital, Sanaa, was paralyzed for a day after Hadi sacked the air force commander, a relative of Saleh, on Friday.
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