Sanaa, September 29: Yemen security forces have clashed with activists in the south of the country, where separatist sentiments run deep, while troops have killed 29 Shiite rebels in the north amid a raging offensive, officials said on Tuesday.
In Jinzibar, capital of the southern Abyan province, “wanted criminals” opened fire on security forces prompting the troops to retaliate, the official Saba news agency said quoting a government official.
In the exchange, a woman was shot and wounded by the activists, the official said.
Following the clashes, the security forces arrested several people from among a group of 30 who were wanted in connection with “more than 20 crimes,” including attacks on security patrols and burglaries at government offices, the official said.
Local sources said the activists were supporters of Tareq al-Fadhali, an Islamist leader and former key ally of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been at the forefront of protests in Yemen’s impoverished south.
The authorities are demanding that Fadhali surrender or leave the country, sources close to him said.
Sporadic clashes in the south have left around 40 people dead since protests erupted in late April.
The Sanaa government has blamed the unrest on southern rebels, but many in the south have been protesting against poor living conditions.
The latest clashes are the first since August 23 when a protester was shot and killed by police during a demonstration over water shortages in Aden, south Yemen’s largest city.
In northern Yemen, 29 Shiite rebels were killed in battles with government troops in the rugged mountainous Saada province, scene of a fierce government offensive since August 11, a military official said.
Rebel leaders, including Abdullah Ali al-Qallat, were among those killed in Monday’s fighting across Saada province, Saba news agency quoted the official as saying.
The rebels say that they are fighting to defend their community against what they say is government aggression and marginalisation.
—Agencies