Yemeni security forces arrested several villagers Sunday who were at the center of a land dispute in the southern part of the country that turned into a confrontation with the army, a local official said.
The official told AFP that Yemeni forces went into the villages of Sabr and Al-Matali and arrested several people, but not Abdelwali al-Jabri, who according to tribal officials owned land that army officers wanted to appropriate.
The tribal leaders and residents of Sabr on Saturday urged President Ali Abdullah Saleh to intervene "to halt the shelling which has left dead and wounded among the villagers."
Witnesses said several buildings were shelled Friday and Saturday, damaging several homes, and two members of the state security force were wounded in the incident.
The local official said reports of shelling were untrue and said state forces went after Jabri because he refused orders from officials who wanted to mediate in the land dispute - SANAA (AFP)
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