Yemen's Council of Ministers on Tuesday approved to set up a fund to reconstruct Abyan, days after the army drove Al-Qaida militants out of the southern province after months of a US-backed offensive.
In its exceptional meeting in Aden, the Council urged to accelerate the formation of the fund and announced YR10 billion in government contribution to the fund besides expected internal and external aid to return the situation to normal in Abyan.
In the meantime, the authorities are removing and detonating landmines, which were planted by the militants in key towns and working hard to restore basic services to enable the displaced people to come back.
Furthermore, the Council approved to deduct a day's wage from the salaries of the state employees which will be collected and given in aid to the displaced families in Abyan.
The UN has said about 170,000 people fled Abyan to Aden and other nearby provinces due to the battles against Al-Qaida.
At the meeting, it discussed the report of the local government on priorities topped by immediate interventions to rebuild the areas, which were damaged in the offensive against militancy over the past few months.
It stressed the importance to meet urgent needs in this province, especially necessary security equipment to enable the authorities to do their job perfectly.
In association with pro-government fighters, the national forces retook control of key towns in Abyan including the capital Zinjibar, which were seized in mid-2011. The army has launched massive hunts to pursue the remaining Al-Qaida militants in nearby provinces.