Al Mukalla: Yemen’s Prime Minister Ahmad Obaid Bin Dagher has pledged to reduce crime and terrorism in Hadramout by renovating security institutions in the vast province.
At a meeting with senior provincial military and government officials, Bin Dagher said that his government would assist local authorities in the valleys of Hadramout province to confront a recent spate of crimes and terrorist attacks.
“The government will provide means for offering services and building strong, trained and qualified security forces to protect Wadi Hadramout from Al Qaida,” he said.
Unlike the coastal parts of Hadramout that were cleared from Al Qaida by UAE-trained forces, security in the desert and valley territories have seen a surge of attacks by Al Qaida and a string of assassinations.
Despite deploying forces in the main cities, dozens of people, including intelligence officers, have been killed in the last couple of years.
The prime minister said that the government of the internationally-recognised president, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, that booted out Al Qaida from the city of Al Mukalla, Hadramout’s capital and neighbouring cities, is capable of cleansing Wadi Hadramout from Al Qaida and criminals.
“The government that cleared the coastal [parts] of Hadramout in April 24 last year, and the province of Abyan from Al Qaida with the help of the Saudi-led coalition, is able to eradicate the evil elements from the valley of Hadramout,” Bin Dagher said.
The prime minister has recently begun a tour to liberate southern provinces to appease growing public anger towards his government for focusing on the coastal city of Aden to which the government has temporarily shifted the capital.
In Lahj, he inaugurated a power station and reopened schools funded by UAE Red Crescent.
He also visited Al Mukalla where he doled out millions of riyals for basic services like electricity.
Meanwhile on the battlefield, fighting broke out in the city of Taiz, a day after a shell fired by Al Houthis killed and injured at least a dozen civilians, including several children.
The Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that clashes broke out in the city’s outskirts and government forces have repelled consecutive attempts by Al Houthi militants to make territorial gains.
As usual, rebels indiscriminately fired shells into the densely populated residential districts in the city.
The government condemned rebel shelling on Friday which killed and injured at least 14 civilians. It renewed its call on the international community to put pressure on Al Houthis to prevent them from launching mortar attacks on Taiz.
