SANA'A // Clashes between Yemeni police and suspected al Qa'eda militants and protesters intensified yesterday after erupting on Thursday in the southern port city of Aden. Local sources said the fighting began on Thursday after security forces arrested nine suspected al Qa'eda militants accused of being behind an attack on the city's intelligence headquarters last Saturday in which 11 people were killed.
Relatives of the detainees took to the streets of al Saadah neighbourhood on Thursday evening in protests that quickly became armed clashes with police. Police yesterday inundated the area, blocking the main road and intermittently clashing with suspected militants, according to Ahmed al Darwish, an eyewitness. He said that the clashes intensified yesterday after media reports that one of the protesters arrested on Thursday evening died in custody.
malqadhi@thenational.ae