SANAA/ADEN, Yemen: More than 50,000 Yemenis have fled the flashpoint southern province of Abyan since militants took over its capital last month, a government official said Monday, as fighting intensified in the area.
Tens of thousands of Yemenis also protested in the capital Sanaa, accusing the authorities of plotting a takeover by extremists of the southern province of Abyan.The demonstrators marched toward the residence of Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, chanting slogans accusing the authorities of “facilitating the takeover by Al-Qaeda elements” of Abyan.

A five-strong delegation representing the protesters was blocked by guards outside the residence from meeting the deputy of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Under the Yemeni constitution, Hadi replaced the president when he was flown to Saudi Arabia a month ago to be treated for wounds sustained in an explosion at the presidential palace.
In the letter, the protesters urged Hadi to bring an end to what they called “the joke” in Abyan and to take “all necessary measures to protect people” there.

They also demanded that the government reinforce troops fighting alleged Al-Qaeda militants in Abyan.
Yemeni forces have been engaged in heavy fighting with suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Zinjibar, the provincial capital, since late May.

A government official in charge of refugee affairs told a U.N. delegation visiting Yemen that tens of thousands had fled from Abyan to neighboring Aden, a port near a strategic sea lane through which ships carry some 3 million barrels of oil daily.

A commander said Saturday that 50 troops have been posted as missing after clashes with militants around Zinjibar. At least 135 troops have been killed in the clashes, military sources said.
The commander accused the Defense Ministry of abandoning the 25th Mechanized Brigade soldiers to their fate in the face of repeated attacks by the Partisans of Shariah (Islamic Law) movement who seized much of Zinjibar in late May.

The Sanaa government says the militants are allied with Al-Qaeda, but the opposition accuses the regime of playing up a jihadist threat in a desperate attempt to keep Saleh in power.
Saleh had been a key U.S. ally in its “war on terror,” but has faced mass protests against his rule since January.
Meanwhile, witnesses reported that thousands of people joined a protest on Monday in the city of Ibb, 190 kilometers south of Sanaa, urging Saudi Arabia to prevent Saleh returning to power.
“Saleh will not return!” they chanted.

Saleh, 69, who has been in power since 1978, has not appeared in public since the June 3 blast at a mosque in the presidential compound killed 11 people and wounded 124 others, among them senior officials.