The army sent reinforcements to army units in the southeast Yemeni town of Rada, some 170km south east of the capital Sana'a, which was seized a week ago and declared an Islamic emirate by al-Qaeda militants.
Yemeni army sought to reinforce and enhance army units following the failure of a tribal mediation which aimed to end the violence in the town without bloodshed, according to local tribal dignitaries.
Last week, tribal chiefs accused the army and security forces in Rada of scheming with the terrorists and letting their town of Rada easily fall in the control of al-Qaeda.
Ever since the town fell into the hands of islamists thousands of locals have staged almost daily rallies demanding the army force al-Qaeda militants out their town, local sources told YemenPost.
Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch has strengthened its foothold in the southern provinces of the fragmented-state, apparently taking advantage of the power vacuum triggered by massive popular protests calling for the end of the 33-year-long of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Saleh has left Yemen for USA shortly after delivering a farewell speech asking the Yemeni men and women for forgiveness for his shortcomings and mistakes during his reign as President.
Separately, UNICEF has warned today of the increasingly worrisome issue of heightened malnutrition among Yemeni children as the political crises was combined by dramatic hikes in food items, compounding the suffering of citizens.