DHAKA: Tribesmen seized an oil ministry building in Yemen’s eastern Hadramout province on Thursday and exchanged gunfire with a pro-government tribe seeking to regain control of the premises.

Tribal sources and ministry employees said, reports The Straits Times.

The tribesmen were responding to the killing of a tribal leader earlier this month in fighting at an army checkpoint after his bodyguards refused to hand over their weapons to soldiers.

Yemen, one of the Arab world’s poorest countries, is struggling to restore state authority after long-serving president Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced to step down in 2011.

The authorities face regular challenges from tribesmen who have attacked oil pipelines and power lines for reasons including demands for the government to provide employment or efforts to secure the release of jailed relatives.

BDST: 2125 HRS, DEC 26, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor