Imam murdered in Aden after denouncing extremists

Members of Yemeni security arrive to secure a public gathering in the southern city of Aden on January 31, 2016. / AFP / SALEH AL-OBEID

Sanaa // An imam who delivered a passionate sermon in Aden on Friday denouncing Al Qaeda and ISIL has been abducted, tortured and killed.

The disfigured body of Samahan Abdel Aziz, Yemen’s leading Salafi cleric, was found yesterday in Sheikh Othman, an area of the southern port city largely controlled by extremists.

Abdel Aziz, also known as Sheikh Rawi, had been kidnapped by gunmen outside his mosque late on Saturday in the pro-government neighbourhood of Bureiqa.

Government forces and Emirati troops from the Saudi-led coalition seized Aden from Houthi rebels last July, but Al Qaeda and ISIL continue to carry out bombings and assassinations in the city.

The imam’s death came days after more coalition troops and military vehicles arrived in Aden to bolster security as the conflict against the Houthis continues farther north.

The Iran-backed insurgents were accused yesterday of confiscating humanitarian aid sent to help civilians in the besieged city of Taez.

The rebels “should immediately end the unlawful confiscation of goods intended for the civilian population and permit full access by aid agencies”, Human Rights Watch said.

“Seizing property from civilians is already unlawful, but taking their food and medical supplies is simply cruel.”

The Houthis and their allies have for months tightened the noose on Yemen’s third-largest city as they come under pressure from forces backing the internationally recognised government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

The population of the city had dropped from about 600,000 to no more than 200,000 civilians after many fled the fighting, according to UN figures.

Since at least September, Human Rights Watch said, rebel guards at checkpoints have confiscated water, food, cooking gas and medical supplies that residents tried to carry into besieged areas.

International relief agencies are also facing difficulties bringing in food and medicine.

Medecins Sans Frontiers delivered essential medical supplies to hospitals in the city in early January, in the first such “significant” shipment since August.

That came several days after a Saudi charity said aircraft of the Saudi-led coalition had dropped 40 tonnes of medical equipment and food to Taez.

The coalition has since March conducted air and ground operations in Yemen to support local forces against the rebels and their allies.

More than 5,800 people have been killed in Yemen since March, about half of them civilians, according to the UN.

The coalition yesterday announced an independent commission of inquiry to examine charges of possible abuses against civilians in the conflict.

The coalition command said it had formed “an independent team of experts in international humanitarian law and weapons to assess the incidents and investigate the rules of engagement”.

The objective was to “develop a clear and comprehensive report on each incident with the conclusions, lessons learnt, recommendations and measures that should be taken” to spare civilians.

* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse