Yemen al-Qaeda militants ‘flee Zinjibar’

Varying reports put the number of casualties from the air raids – which targeted positions held by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) – at between five and 21 killed, the majority of whom were government soldiers, and scores of others injured.

Harrowing footage showing planes dropping bombs, burned-out buildings and tanks and the corpses of what appear to be soldiers, have appeared on the internet, although it has not been possible to independly verify them.

A journalist in Yemen, which commentators say is teetering on the precipice of civil war following the flight of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to Saudi Arabia, said that Zinjibar had become “a hell-like battleground.”

“There are corpses strewn around the streets in and surrounding the city. I’m led to believe that many of them are Yemeni soldiers and some are the militants, who now appear to have retreated from the official facilities,” said the journalist, who cannot be named for safety reasons.

“However, because the city is a ghost town, with many people leaving, the militants have not fled the city itself, and are likely still in control because of the absence of the military,” the journalist added.

Residents in the city said that on Sunday, the militants, whp are believed to be largely composed of AQAP fighters, had seized the the town largely unopposed after most government troops stationed there were withdrawn.

AQAP began its offensive on Zinjibar at the tail-end of last month, but began to withdraw to the outskirts and to the nearby city of Jaar after the Yemeni air forces struck repeatly overnight.

The journalist added that many of Zinjibar’s 20,000 residents had fled, leaving it looking like a “ghost town”.

Around 250km away, in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, anti-government protesters massed in a central square to celebrate the departure over the weekend of President Saleh.

His departure – following an attack by rebels on the presidential palace last week, leaving him with “minor injuries” and seven guards dead – sparked scenes of jubilation among the crowds, who have been trying for months to oust him after nearly 33 years in power.

But their joy may be short-lived. Saleh, who has undergone surgery for a shrapnel wound, on Monday vowed to return to Yemen within days, according to his vice president.

“The president was improving, recovering and would return to the homeland in the coming days,” Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi – now the country’s acting leader – said.

Hadi said he spoke with Saleh on Sunday evening and Monday morning by telephone.

Ceasefire unravelling?

And a ceasefire in the capital was at risk of unravelling on Monday, as regime supporters opened fire on opposition fighters in renewed clashes that killed at least six, according to reports.

In Saleh’s absence, opposition parties are attempting to usher in a post-Saleh transition, pressing for the revival of a US and Saudi-backed initiative.

Under the deal, Saleh would officially step down, a unity government between his ruling party and the opposition would be formed, and new presidential elections held within two months.

But in recent weeks Saleh refused three times to sign the deal, and officials in his regime said on Monday that nothing could be done without his approval, even while in Saudi Arabia.