Al Qaeda militants have seized a small town south-east of Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday in another setback to efforts to restore order after President Ali Abdullah Saleh formally handed over power following almost a year of mass protests against his rule.
A police source and witnesses said the militants met little resistance from a small police force when they entered the town of Radda in al-Baydah province, 170 km (105 miles) from Sanaa, on Saturday night, seizing an ancient citadel and mosque.
The capture of Radda expanded al Qaeda control outside the southern province of Abyan, where they have taken over several towns since the uprising against Saleh began. Saleh signed a deal brokered by Yemen's Gulf neighbours in November under which he shifted formal power to his deputy. But he has not yet left the country and continues to wield a great deal of power through relatives' control of security forces, raising concern about the integrity of the deal.
"I call again on President Saleh to abide by the terms of the agreement," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in Beirut during a Middle East visit, noting that a UN mediator had been "at the heart of negotiations" with Saleh.
The anti-Saleh unrest has emboldened groups linked to al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional wing, which the United States has called the most dangerous branch of the militant network.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.