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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Yemen troops, rebels killed in battle for central province

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Aden: Six soldiers were killed in Yemen on Thursday, a military source said, as government forces seek to cement their control over Marib province, east of the rebel-held capital.


The source said 14 rebels were also killed over the past 24 hours in intense fighting for Sarwah, the last district in the province still held by the rebels.


The government has been battling since last year to retake the mountainous district which commands the main road to the capital Sanaa.


Despite the military intervention of a coalition in March 2015, the government’s writ is still largely confined to the south and areas along the Saudi border.


The government announced a shake-up of its military command on Wednesday. It also named new governors for three of the six provinces largely under its control —Hadramawt, Shabwa and the far-flung island of Socotra.


Both Hadramawt and Shabwa have seen significant activity by Al Qaeda, which has taken advantage of the conflict between the government and the rebels to expand its presence.


The World Health Organization estimates that more than 8,000 people have been killed in the conflict, most of them civilians.


The country has also been hit by a deadly cholera outbreak and faces the risk of famine.


Meanwhile, three Yemeni soldiers were killed on Wednesday when suspected Al Qaeda militants opened fire on a military zone in the country’s Hadramawt province, a military source said.


“Three soldiers were killed in the attack on the first military zone in the Al Qoton district, and the gunmen managed to get away,” the source said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to brief the media.


“We suspect the gunmen belong to Al Qaeda,” the source added.


Later, an officer was kidnapped at night in the southern province of Abyan by gunmen also suspected of belonging to Al Qaeda, a security source said.


The source said the officer was part of the presidential guard in Aden, a neighbouring province where the government is based.


Al Qaeda has flourished in Yemen as the country’s civil conflict shows no sign of waning.


— Agencies


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