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| International |
| Safety tip: Don't shoot at helicopters in Yemen... |
| 2002-07-10 |
| Yemen army deputy chief of staff brigadier Ali Mohammed Salah, was wounded in his shoulder when his helicopter came under fire last Thursday while flying over al-Marfadh village, 180 km from Sana’a. In retaliation, troopers from the military forces stationed in the Jawf region supported by artillery units from the Republican Guard shelled the Marfadh village where culprits were believed to be hiding. No injuries have been reported yet. "Our motto: Shoot first and investigate later..." Tribal sources said that sheikhs of Dhuhin and al-Asharef belonging to Marfadh village have given in a number of their sons as hostages to the authorities until perpetrators are found, however officials refused this proposal. "No, thank you. We'd rather have the shooters' heads on platters..." Sheikhs of Jawf seek to broker a deal to stop military operations that may lead to an all-out war in the region. The area presently enjoys a relative calmness after the halt of artillery shelling that lasted for three hours. "The shelling's stopped, Fatima!" "Yes, Mahmoud. It's relatively calm, isn't it?" A tribal sheikh of Jawf denied any link between the detention of MP sheikh al-Ukaimi at the military prison in Sana’a two weeks ago and the attack on the helicopter. "Hell, no! No connection at all! That boy thought it was a vulture, and just let fly...!" |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |