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May
03, 2012 |
Sana'a-
The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has started offering free
electricity and gas to villagers in Yemen's restive southern region, according
to a Saudi daily.
The
al-Sharq al-Awsat daily said the Al Qaeda has gained control of swathes of the
southern provinces of Abyen and Lahaj and Shabwa, and was reportedly offering
essential services the central government was failing to provide.
In
Jaar town, the militants are also said to be offering water, and have abolished
all taxes imposed by Sana'a.
Militants
on armoured vehicles have reportedly surrounded Azzan, in Shabwa, where the
AQAP's regional commander Anwar al-Awlaki's son was killed in a drone strike in
October 2011.
According
to the treport, largely unopposed, the militants have filled a power vacuum
left by more than a year of unrest in the impoverished state. Huge
demonstrations against long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh eventually led to his
resignation in February and subsequent elections.
According
to the treport, largely unopposed, the militants have filled a power vacuum
left by more than a year of unrest in the impoverished state. Huge
demonstrations against long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh eventually led to his
resignation in February and subsequent elections.
The
AQAP was formed in January 2009 by a merger between two regional offshoots of
the international Islamist militant network in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The
US president's counter-terrorism adviser has called it 'the most active
operational franchise' of the Al Qaeda beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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