AL-UMMA: Sanaa weekly, 9-7-98. [Archives:1998/28/Press Review]

archive
July 13 1998

(Al-Haqq Party)
Main Headline:
1- Yemeni and Saudi officials intensify their visits to their respective border military camps. Prince Sultan, in a talk to the Saudi naval officers, stressed the his government’s support for the Saudi navy because “it has to patrol Saudi shores on the 3 different seas!”
2- Minster of Religious Endowments and Al-Haqq party leader returns from Cairo following the conclusion of the 10th Islamic conference.
3- Religious leaders and scholars in Hadhramaut demand that the authorities reverse the decision to raise prices.
4- No information has yet been gleaned on the big explosion that rocked the Sanaa home of the chief of the Sanaa and Jawf Appeal Court two weeks ago.
Article Summary:
Hodeida Fire Victims Accuse
Traders and vendors whose property were damaged by the fire that raged in a Hodeida make-shift market have accused a local businessman and the People’s General Congress (PGC) branch of being behind the incident last Thursday. Mostly immigrants who returned to Yemen after the Gulf War, the 2,000 or so vendors said in a statement that eyewitnesses saw the car of known merchant, Al-Hobaishi, leaving the scene of the fire immediately after it erupted.
The fire started when unknown men fired bullets on a number of fuel jerrycans at the market place, and a number of bombs went off inside. The fire fighters arrived at the scene one hour after the eruption of the fire, said the statement, hinting at collusion between them and Al-Hobaishi.
Trouble started some time ago when the local authority sold the market place, through the local PGC branch to Al-Hobaishi, who incessantly tried to evict the traders. Eight of them were imprisoned for a month by the military police, despite the presidential order to leave them alone.

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