Thaindian News

Saada (Yemen), March 4 (IANS/AKI) Yemeni security forces have arrested 11 Al Qaeda suspects in the capital Sanaa, killing one man during the operation, security officials said Thursday.
According to the Yemeni news agency Saba, the father of one of the suspects opened fire on security forces before being shot dead.

Two policemen were killed and a third was injured in the operation.

Yemen began an intensified campaign against Al Qaeda in late December after the terror network’s local arm said it was behind a failed attempt to blow up a US airliner Dec 25.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross has expressed concern about the welfare of thousands of people affected by the conflict between the government and Shia Houthi rebels in the north of the country.

Since a ceasefire was concluded between the Yemeni government and the Houthis Feb 11, the Red Cross said international organisations were struggling to deal with the demand for services as displaced people tried to return home.

The Red Cross said in the past two weeks it had provided 4,200 newly displaced people and more than 1,600 residents with urgently needed tents, tarpaulins, blankets and other necessities.

The World Food Programme distributed food to around 14,700 displaced people in Mandaba camp in the district of Baqem, near the Saudi border.

More than 22,500 people are currently living in five camps run by the Yemen Red Crescent and the Red Cross.

“We are now trying to help people we had been unable to reach because of the ongoing fighting,” said Annabelle Boetcher, the deputy head of the Red Cross in Yemen.

–IANS/AKI

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