Warplane airstrike kills 30 Yemeni soldiers

Yemeni local officials have said that almost 30 soldiers have been killed in south of the country during a Yemeni warplane airstrike. The government has denied the reports. The assault on Saturday 1st October hit the 119th brigade troops near Zinjibar, in the Abyan province, and was followed by militant attacks.

It is yet to be confirmed whether the attack was an error. Yemeni TV, however, denied the bombing took place.

It is thought that the 119th brigade has joined a rebellion against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is now back in the country after three months in Saudi Arabia.

The militants suspected to be linked to the Al-Qa'ida have exploited the security vacuum in the country to launch a number of attacks on civilians and military personnel.

The army has been involved in an ongoing battle to reclaim territory. Last month, it recaptured Zinjibar. In country opposition, however, says the Yemeni government has exaggerated Al-Qa'ida's activities in order to gain international sympathies.

According to the BBC, the warplane hit an abandoned school, where the regiment was taking shelter. An unnamed military official also told AFP news agency that militants later attacked the base and "killed even more soldiers".

The ongoing turmoil in southern Yemen has ignited fears about the prospect of a civil war ever since military units and tribal groups joined anti-government protests in recent months.

More protests were reported in Sana'a on Sunday 2nd October, with people still calling for Saleh to resign. The Yemeni president, who sought treatment in Saudi Arabia after an attempt on his life, refuses to step-down but has recently called for peace in the country.

The latest attack in south Yemen follows the killing of US-born Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, seen as the key figure in the Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Awlaki is thought to have been killed by a suspected US drone in the east of the country.

Sources: AFP, BBC News, Reuters

r more news and expert analysis about Yemen, please see Yemen Focus.

Yemen car bombing kills 15 people

A car bombing of a Shi'a religious procession has killed 15 people in the Jawf province, in northern Yemen. Leader of the region's Huthi rebels said his group was targeted by the attack.

No one singular group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place during al-Shadeer, a festival not recognised by Yemen's majority Sunni Muslims. Yemen is under threat from rebel groups in the north and the south of the country, as well as al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula.

A number of sources have confirmed that 30 people were also injured in the car bombing. There has been speculation that al-Qa'ida or a Sunni Muslim group may have carried out the attack, but nothing has yet been confirmed by the Yemeni government.

Conflict between rebel groups, and between different tribes, particularly in northern Yemen, are as important as the religious divide between Shi'a and Sunni Muslims, and equally as complicated.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Yemen, please see Yemen Focus.

Fifteen suspected Al-Qa'ida terrorists surrender

Fifteen suspected Al-Qa'ida terrorists have surrendered to the Albyan province governor. The surrenders followed a meeting of Gov Ahmed Al-Maisari and several tribal sheikhs in the Albyan provence in southern Yemen. Al-Maisari told news reporters the militants decided to turn themselves in after being persuaded by the tribal sheikhs.

Yemen has seen an increase in terrorist activity since the establishment of al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula in 2009. The surrender comes shortly before the Gulf Cup soccer tournament, expected to be attended by teams from Iraq and six other Gulf states in late November and early December. Yemen's government is keen to show it is able to maintain order in the country after a series of criticisms from its neighbors.

Over the weekend, Yemeni security forces including 1,000 soldiers launched an intervention in the Shabwa province, thought to be a safe haven for al-Qa'ida terrorists. The operation was prompted by al-Maisari's ultimatum to local tribes to either "eradicate" al-Qa'ida operatives themselves or the army would move in to the region.

Source: CNN

For more news and expert analysis about Yemen, please see Yemen Focus.