Armed tribesmen kill 3 soldiers in southeast Yemen

Armed tribesmen have killed at least three soldiers in an attack on a military post in southeast Yemen, local officials said.

The incident took place on Saturday in the province of Hadhramaut as clashes between militants and security forces continued in the area for the second day.

“Tribesmen attacked with machine guns a checkpoint to the east of the town of al-Qotn, killing three soldiers and wounding others,” a local official said.

The attack came after earlier reports said three people were killed and several others injured in clashes between security forces and pro-independence protesters in Yemen’s south.

Yemen’s south has been gripped by angry demonstrations after the killing of a tribal leader earlier this month at a military checkpoint in Hadhramaut Province.

North and south Yemen unified in 1990 after the southern government collapsed. But four years later, the south tried to break away and this led to a civil war. The conflict ended with northern troops taking control of the south after winning the war.

Also on Saturday, armed men blew up two sections of an oil pipeline in the eastern province of Ma’arib. It was the third such attack in the area this week.

Over the past two years, oil and gas pipelines in Yemen have come under repeated attacks which have resulted in fuel shortages and slashed export earnings.

Oil Minister Ahmad Dares said earlier this week that the attacks had cost the country USD 4.75 billion in the two years to March 2013.