Yemen Clashes Kill 9 Islamists Near Zinjibar

Posted June 28th, 2011 at 5:30 pm (UTC-5)
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Yemeni officials say government forces have killed nine Islamist fighters in clashes near the southern city of Zinjibar, the capital of volatile Abyan province.

A military spokesman said Tuesday that four other militants, also associated with al-Qaida, were injured in the fighting.

Separately, the Associated Press reported that Yemeni government warplanes and artillery pounded several villages of anti-government tribes north of the capital, Sana'a, killing at least three people.

The Naham mountain area has seen clashes between loyalist forces and tribes hostile to President Ali Abdullah Saleh since Yemen's popular uprising began in February. The 69-year-old Mr. Saleh is recovering in Saudi Arabia from wounds suffered in an attack earlier this month.

Yemen's deputy information minister said a television team left for the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Monday to conduct an interview with the president. The ruling General People's Congress Party said on its website that Mr. Saleh would speak “about the next phase in Yemen and the steps expected for political reform.”

It remains unclear when the interview – which would be the Yemeni president's first public appearance since the June 3 bomb blast – will be broadcast.

Meanwhile, a United Nations fact-finding mission charged with investigating human rights violations arrived in Sana'a to began a 10-day visit. The group met the country's acting leader, Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, on Tuesday.

The U.N. said its three-member delegation will also meet with activists and alleged victims of human rights violations in addition to visiting medical and detention centers. Yemen's state news agency said the Human Rights Ministry will provide whatever help is necessary during the visit.

Thousands of people across the country have been calling for an end to Mr. Saleh's autocratic rule. Many of the protests have turned violent and security forces killed at least 200 people.

Also Tuesday, a Yemeni official said three French aid workers abducted in May are still alive and that efforts are continuing to secure their release. The three disappeared in the eastern Yemeni city of Sayoun. French and Yemeni authorities have previously said they were probably kidnapped.