Yemen denies separatists escape from prison

By Nasser Arrabyee/02/2010

The Yemeni Ministry of Interior denied Friday reports that a group of separatists escaped from a prison in the southern city of Al Dhale'e.

The reports are untrue and baseless, the ministry said in a statement, calling the media to be more accurate and credible.

However, the statement said, that the security forces arrested about 20 men, some of them armed, who were participating in unlicensed demonstration.

"One them of them called Fawaz Saleh Besbas, threw a hand grenade inside the yard of the prisons injuring 6 people," the statement said.

Those injured were taken to the hospital, the others were kept in custody for charges of making riots, and none of them escaped, the statement said.

Earlier, the local sources from Al Dhale'e said that about 30 men escaped from the prison after the hand grenade went off inside the yard of the prison.

Meanwhile, official sources confirmed that soldier was killed and another was injured when armed demonstrators calling for separation clashed with the security forces in Al Habileen, Radfan.

The security forces dispersed the anti-unity and unlicensed demonstration, which raised the flag of separation and pictures of the former president of the south, Ali Salem Al Baidh.

To this end, an armed group in the unstable south of Yemen plundered 76.4 million Yemeni rials (332,000 US$) in the area of Shakra in Abyan province.
The money was salaries for health and education employees in the district of Lawdar, Abyan province where the government implemented air strikes against Al Qaeda late month and late last year.

The Ministry of Interior said it had important information about the 8-member group who plundered the salaries, and that security forces are hunting them down and would bring them to justice soon.