A tribal mediation has succeeded to put an end to the battles between the Yemeni army and Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the Rada city in Baidha province, Almasdar Online reported Wednesday quoting local sources.
The tribal mediators led by elders from Marib province and officials including deputy Marib province Sheikh Nasser Ahmed Al-Aji met on Tuesday with Baidha governor Al-Dhahiry Al-Shadadi in Rada and convinced him to stop the battles, the website said.
Al-Shadadi was in Rada under orders from President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi to go to the city to guide the military operations against the militants, according to the website.
The army started two days an offensive against Al-Qaeda militants in Rada to release three Europeans and retake some parts of the city which were reported to have been controlled by the militants.
The two Finnish and Austrian were kidnapped in the capital Sanaa in late December. After the kidnapping reports surfaced Al-Qaeda bought them and took them to Rada.
In early last year, Al-Qaeda militants raided Rada and were about to declare it as an Islamic emirate after the move of the offshoot of AQAP which controlled key towns in Abyan and declared them as Islamic emirates in mid-2011. A tribal mediation then convinced the militants to withdraw from Rada in return for releasing some militant prisoners.
On Tuesday, warplanes targeted key positions of the militants in the Manaseeh district after car bombs killed and injured tens of soldiers.
The Yemeni army has been hunting Al-Qaeda operatives across the republic since mid-last year after the forces drove all militants out of their strongholds in Abyan and Shabwa provinces.
The US is providing direct support to the Yemeni forces, with drones killing and targeting key Al-Qaeda leaders in various parts of the country.