Yemen has demanded the United States to end flying of US drones over towns that have been retaken from Al-AQaeda capture, political sources said on Sunday.
The sources said the US agreed to temporary suspend the flying of its drones over Yemeni towns.
According to an Emirati newspaper, Al-Khaleej, Yemen and the United States agree to end war against Al-Qaeda in those Yemeni areas cleansed from the militants. The sources further said that the Yemeni government told the US Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein its refusal to the continuity of drone raids.
A suspected U.S. drone strike killed last Tuesday two al-Qaida militants in a car in Yemen’s south.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi said early of the current month that Yemen has asked for US drones to be used "in some cases" to target Al-Qaeda leaders in the country. The remark of Al-Qirbi was a first official Yemeni confirmation. In an interview with ABC television's US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged the use of unmanned drones against Al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen, where such reports had not been confirmed.
The Yemeni army in collaboration with US drones could dislodge Al-Qaeda militants from their main hideouts in Zinjibar, Jaar and Shaqra of Abyan governorate.
More than 150,000 Abyan residents were displaced last year after fleeing the war. They are currently living in shelters in neighboring Aden and Lahj provinces.
Yemen President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi had vowed to defeat Al-Qaeda and enable the displaced persons to return to their homes.