Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Thousands of Yemenis flee battle with Al-Qaeda
Published in Daily News Egypt on 21 - 09 - 2010

SAN'A: Thousands of people have fled a village in southern Yemen where security forces are laying siege to Al-Qaeda militants, a security official said, signaling an escalation in the government's U.S.-backed campaign to uproot the terror network's local offshoot.
Government forces have moved into the village of Hawta with tanks and armored vehicles and 90 percent of its residents have fled, Abdullah Baouda, police chief for the surrounding district, said on Monday.
One family fleeing Hawta said forces have shelled the village indiscriminately for the past two days to flush out the militants. Troops also fired on vehicles of residents fleeing the village and another nearby trouble spot, the city of Lawder, killing two civilians and wounding three others, according local government and medical officials.
Hawta is in Yemen's mountainous Shabwa province, one the areas where Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has taken root over the past year and a half, beyond the reach of a weak central government that has little control outside the capital.
The United States is deeply concerned about the threat from Yemen's Al-Qaeda branch. The group claimed responsibility for the December attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner, linking the plot to Yemen's cooperation with the U.S. military in strikes on Al-Qaeda targets.
The U.S. has shared intelligence and provided financial aid and training to Yemeni forces, generating backlash among Yemenis who feel their government is too closely allied with America.
Around 120 Al-Qaeda militants are believed to be taking refuge in Hawta, the police chief said. Three militants were killed and four were wounded in the fighting, said the provincial governor, Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi. One anti-terrorism officer was injured, he said.
"The siege will remain until those elements hand themselves in and we manage to uproot terrorist groups from the region," al-Ahmadi said.
For months, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has hammered Yemen's security forces in attacks on checkpoints and other security outposts.
The group said in an Internet statement Monday that it abducted a senior security official and demanded the release of two of its imprisoned members within 48 hours. Brig. Gen. Ali Hossam disappeared Aug. 26.
The group did not say what it would do if its demand was not met.
Yemen's government has had trouble gaining control of areas in the south that are under the control of powerful tribes, some sympathetic to Al-Qaeda and other Islamic militants roaming the area.
Yemen is the poorest nation in the Arab world and is beset by other major internal security threats — an on-and-off rebellion on the north and a separate secessionist movement in the south.
In the capital, four Al-Qaeda suspects, including a Yemeni-German teenager, were brought to trial Monday on charges of plotting attacks on tourists, international institutions and security forces.
A court official said the 16-year-old dual national, Rami Hans Harman, denied the charges and told the court that authorities extracted a false confession from him while he was blindfolded.
The four men are also charged with setting up training camps and forming terrorist cells in southern Marib province.
The court official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The U.S. has pledged $150 million in military assistance to Yemen this year for helicopters, planes and other equipment to battle Al-Qaeda.
Recently, U.S. officials have said they are looking at using armed Predator drones to hunt down and kill Al-Qaeda leaders operating out of safe havens in Yemen's ungoverned regions, if the country's leaders agree.
President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, visited Yemen Monday for talks with President Ali Abdullah Saleh and other senior officials. He delivered a letter to the president from Obama, the U.S. Embassy said.
In it, Obama assured Saleh the United States was committed to supporting Yemen's people, who he said could do more than just "overcome the threats that they face — they can build a future of greater peace and opportunity for their children."


Clic here to read the story from its source.