Yemen official says no to talks with Al Qaida

Sana’a Yemen official has raised objection to any attempt by the country’s military commission to open a channel of communication with Al Qaida militants who control a large swathe of the southern province of Abyan.

Saba news agency quoted the governor of Abyan Saleh Hussain Al Zuari as urging local citizens in the province to get together to drive out militants from their areas.

“All districts [in Abyan] must be cleared from those terrorist gangs which committed heinous crimes, displaced more than 100,000 people and destroyed basic infrastructure,” the governor said.

The governor denied that the province’s local council, which he chairs, had given consent for a dialogue with the militants.

“Those gangs do not believe in dialogue. They only believe in killing, destruction and murdering innocent people.”

The governor urged the government to back up military on the ground to swiftly get rid of the militants.

Earlier, media reports said that the military commission, which is responsible for restoring peace in Yemen, has invited Al Qaida militants for talks to convince the militants to pull out from the areas exchange for special privileges .

Al Qaida-suspected bloody attacks, meanwhile, continued to claim more lives of security officers.

On Sunday, unidentified gunmen killed brigadier Ahmad Naji, a security officer working in the Al Annad air force in the southern province of Lahj. Also in the south, a high ranking military officer was killed on Saturday when his car exploded in the port city of Aden, local sources said.

The car of Colonel Saleh Nasser Al Shuaibi, the former chief commander of Border Guards, blew up as he was driving, apparently as a result of a bomb planted in his car.

In a separate but similar incident, an intelligence officer was shot dead on Saturday in the province of Baidha. Armed men opened fire on brigade Aydha Faraj while walking in the street .