Yemen army shell kills woman, daughters

Army shelling killed a pregnant woman and her daughters, three and five, in the same Yemeni town where a bombardment killed 19 mourners last month, medics said on Saturday. The girls' father, Yassin Said, was seriously wounded when the shell slammed into their home in Daleh, 300 kilometres (190 miles) south of the capital, on Friday evening, the medics added. The town, where support runs deep for renewed independence for the formerly independent south, has seen repeated violence between the army and secessionists since the deadly December 27 bombardment of a funeral for one of their number killed in a clash with troops. Earlier Friday, two soldiers and two activists of the Southern Movement were killed in the town. Southern Movement activist Abderrahim al-Naqib said the army had shelled residential areas and a hospital in the town. Human Rights Watch called on the Yemeni government on Thursday to publish the results of its inquiry into last month's deadly shelling. The army said it had targeted militants but witnesses said the shelling hit a schoolyard where some 30 children were among around 150 mourners gathered for the funeral. After British colonial rule ended in 1967, southern Yemen was independent until union with the north in 1990. A secession attempt four years later sparked a brief civil war that ended with northern forces taking over the south. Southern grievances have hindered the political transition rule of veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down in 2012 following 11 months of Arab Spring-inspired protests. Source: AFP