Artillery Shells Kill Mourners in Southern Yemen
|
Version 0 of 1. SANA, Yemen — Artillery shells hit a funeral tent on Friday in southern Yemen, killing 13 people after a day of clashes between the government and local gunmen, according to a security official and a witness. Four shells landed near mourners paying condolences to the family of a man killed in Thursday’s fighting in Ad Dali, where security forces battled fighters affiliated with the southern Yemeni regional movement, said the official and a local political leader, Adnan Abdo, who said he was at the site of the attack. The official said the authorities were investigating the shelling. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the news media. The deaths may inflame regional sentiment in southern Yemen, where a strong movement already demands greater autonomy from the north after what it describes as two decades of marginalization and discrimination. South Yemen was an independent nation until unification in 1990. Southern grievances were a source of contention last week at a national conference that brought together political representatives from across the country, with the aim of drawing up blueprints for a new constitution under a transition plan backed by the United States and Persian Gulf countries. The arguments last week centered on two main proposals: One envisions Yemen being divided into two regions, and another sees it divided into six. Separately, an American drone strike killed one person suspected of being a member of Al Qaeda and wounded another in the southern city of Shibam, a security official said Friday. The United States does not normally comment on its drone program. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group’s branch in Yemen, is considered by American officials to be the network’s most dangerous offshoot. The group’s militants seized large areas in the southern part of the country before the military began a major offensive last year, driving many of them out. The group still carries out deadly attacks. This month, militants stormed the Defense Ministry headquarters, killing more than 50 people, including foreigners. |