Militants Tighten Grip on Yemeni Coastal Town

Source: Reuters

SANA, Yemen (Reuters) — An Al Qaeda group tightened its grip on a Yemeni coastal town on Sunday while a truce was holding in the capital city of Sana after nearly a week of deadly street fighting.

Opposition leaders claimed that President Ali Abdullah Saleh had allowed the city of Zinjibar, on the Gulf of Aden, to fall to the militants in order to raise alarm in the region that would in turn translate to support for the president.

Armed men believed to be from Al Qaeda appeared to have full control of Zinjibar, in the province of Abyan.

Also on Sunday, a breakaway military group called for other army units to join them in the fight to bring down President Ali Abdullah Saleh, piling pressure on him to end his three-decade rule.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/world/middleeast/30yemen.html