Yemen tribes say they stop militant convoy in south
(Reuters) -
Tribal forces working with the Yemeni army halted on Friday a convoy of
militants heading to the southern town of Zinjibar where government
troops are fighting to dislodge Islamists, a tribal source said.
One militant was killed and
around 10 arrested, the source said, when the tribesmen intercepted the
convoy at Moudiya in Abyan province on Yemen's southern coast.
Islamists control many areas in Abyan, prompting fears in the West and neighboring Saudi Arabia
that al Qaeda's Yemen wing is exploiting a security vacuum during
months of anti-government protests and while President Ali Abdullah
Saleh is convalescing in Riyadh after an assassination attempt.
The source said tribes had secured the road from Shabwa province to Shaqra in Abyan, a main highway leading to Zinjibar.
A
local official in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan, said clashes
continued there between the army and militants. The army had retaken
control of a sports stadium outside the city, he said.
Violence has gripped Yemen since February when protests erupted calling for an end to Saleh's 33-year rule.
Security
sources said this week that their forces had killed two al Qaeda
leaders during an offensive in Abyan as it tries to regain areas seized
by the Islamist militants.
But
opposition groups and security analysts were skeptical, saying the
government wanted to show it has the upper hand in Abyan, which has seen
daily bloodshed since militants seized the city of Jaar in March and
Zinjibar in May.
Saleh's opponents
accuse him of letting his forces ease their grip around areas suspected
of hosting militants, in order to convince foreign governments that only
he stands in the way of a militant takeover.
Saleh's
tenacity has frustrated protesters who thought his time was up when he
flew to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment last month following the bomb
attack on his palace, leaving impoverished Yemen in political limbo.
As
the stalemate goes on, clashes have broken out between the Republican
Guard, commanded by Saleh's son, and armed pro-opposition tribesmen who
say they are defending the protesters.
Fighting
between the Republican Guard and armed men on Thursday killed two
people in Arhab, which has been the scene of shelling and gun battles
this week. One protester was also shot dead in the city of Taiz, an
opposition figure said.
A child
died on Friday when a mortar fired by government forces landed on a
house in Taiz, an opposition activist in the city said.
Western
powers and Saudi Arabia have tried to contain rising chaos by pressing
Saleh to sign a Gulf-brokered plan to hand over power. But he has backed
out of the deal three times at the very last minute and has vowed to return to Yemen.
(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf and Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Andrew Hammond, Editing by Jon Hemming)
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