Refugees in South Yemen Will not Leave Schools but to Own Homes

Sanaa, September 18, 2011- Refugees in south Yemen refused on Saturday to leave the schools where they sought shelter after battles erupted between the army and Al-Qaida in Abyan province months ago, sources reported.

Tens of thousands of families sought shelters inside schools in the provinces of Aden and Lahj, and lately the government ordered to transfer them to refuges outside the provinces to evacuate the schools for the new school year.

The website quoted school headmasters in Aden, who asked not to be named, as saying that refugees have demanded to return them to their homes in Abyan not to send them to stadium and refugee camps as well as compensating them.

“The refugees said the stadium in Aden to which the government wants to transfer them is not suitable. They are also determined to resist their relocation but to their homes in Abyan,” the website reported.

The headmasters were also quoted as saying that there were orders to suspend teaching until the problem of the refugees is solved.

The government said last month that about 108000 refugees fled Abyan to Aden and Lahj due to the battles between the army and Al-Qaida.

Lately, Ahmed Al-Kuhlani, head of the Refuge Camp Management Unit, appealed for more international support to help the displaced persons, as he pointed to measures to relocate those inside schools out Aden and Lahj.

Earlier, Al-Kuhlani expected the refugees could return to their homes after the army cleared some cities in Abyan of Al-Qaida militants. But he said the time to return depends on clearing the cities of explosives and restoring basic services.

Source: Yemen Post