A human rights team is visiting the governorate of Abyan to meet about 73 soldiers captured by Ansar Al-Sharia (supporter of the Islamic law) in Abyan.
The team that is dipatched by the National Authority for Defending Human Rights (Hood) and Al-Karama Organization is to review humanitarian situations in Abyan.
The arrival of the team came simultaneously with air strikes launched against some areas of Abyan.
Hood expressed its deep concerns about the safety of its team after it was reported about the strikes, pointing out that the visit was coordinated with the concerned government authorities.
The team had said it will meet the soldiers that Ansar Al-Sharia militants threaten to kill them in case their fellow operatives are not released from government prisons.
Sources said that it will report about its visit and will convey for the public opinions details about the soldiers.
Media sources said that navy ships shelled on Thursday suspected al-Qaida positions in the southern province of Abyan, killing 29 militants.
Yemeni military and Security officials told BBC that rocket and artillery barrage, spread out over a 24-hour period that ended early Thursday, struck alleged al-Qaida targets around the city of Zinjibar, Abyan’s provincial capital.
For their part, the militants have executed a senior security officer who was kidnapped on Wednesday in the town of Mukkala in the southeast Hadramout province.
Fighting between Ansar Al-Sharia and the Yemeni harmy has been continuing since May 2011, when militants seized several cities in the province, including its administrative center Zinjibar.
Militants of Ansar Al-Sharia attacked early of March military positions, killed about 185 soldiers and arrested 72 others.
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