Yemen fears as 78 die in blast

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Yemen fears as 78 die in blast

(UKPA) – 53 minutes ago

Yemen's chaos has deepened after munitions factory looters set off an accidental

explosion that killed at least 78 in an area seized by Islamist militants

exploiting the president's rapidly dwindling power.

The militant seizure of the factory and nearby towns amplified Western fears

that the fragile Yemeni state could deteriorate quickly because of President Ali

Abdullah Saleh's stand-off with an opposition coalition of youth groups,

military defectors, clerics and tribal leaders calling for his ousting.

Mr Saleh has fought regional rebellions in the north and south, but state

control diminished sharply this month as massive demonstrations spiralled in

major cities and the government pulled police from many towns.

The protesters blame Mr Saleh for mismanagement, repression and the fatal

shootings of demonstrators, and say they will not relent until he goes.

On Sunday, armed men described as religious militants seized the towns of Jaar

and al-Husn, a hilltop overlooking them, and the factory that makes Kalashnikov

assault rifles, ammunitions and explosives used to build roads in the

mountainous southern province of Abyan, where Yemen's al Qaida branch has been

active.

Factory worker Hakim Mohammed said the militants took two armoured cars, a tank,

several pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns, and ammunition.

Later, dozens of impoverished men, women and children entered the plant and

looted anything of valued that remained, including cables, doors and vehicle

fuel.

Someone may have dropped a lit cigarette next to the remaining explosives,

setting off a massive blast that could be heard 10 miles away.

Twenty-seven of the wounded were in a critical condition in hospital in Jaar.

Boucek, a Yemen expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International

Peace, said: " As the central government continues to erode in Yemen, something

will fill the gap. Who will thrive in that space is something we very much need

to be worried about. "

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