By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Armed separatists ambushed a military convoy on a road in southern Yemen on Saturday, killing two soldier and wounding four, a security official told Reuters.

“Two security escorts were killed and another four were seriously wounded when they returned fire against the armed attackers,” an official of the Interior Ministry told the Xinhua News agency on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, the accident took place Saturday afternoon in al-Habilain town in the province of Lahj, as the official convoy was traveling from the southern port city Aden to Sanaa.

“The Deputy Prime Minister al-Alami survived unharmed and his convoy managed to continue its way to Sanaa,” said the official, adding “the four injured soldiers were rushed to a hospital in Sanaa.”

“Security forces are chasing the saboteurs,” the security official said. A defense ministry website denied reports that Rashad al-Alimi, deputy prime minister for security affairs, was traveling in the convoy.

Several soldiers, separatist gunmen and bystanders have been killed in the recent months’ escalating tension in the south.

The government, struggling to stabilize a fractious country in which central authority is often weak, faces international pressure to quell domestic conflicts in order to focus on fighting a resurgent al Qaeda.

For More Information, Please see:

Reuters – Militants Kill Yemen Soldier In Convoy Ambush – 15 May 2010

Xinhua – Yemeni Deputy Survives, 2 Escorts Killed In South – 16 May 2010

Al-Jazeera – ‘Deadly Attack’ On Yemeni Convoy – 16 May 2010