20000402

23 held in Yemen

SANAA: Twenty-three members of an armed group which has killed 16 people, including several policemen, have been arrested in Yemen, the interior minister said on Saturday, accusing them of "subversion."

The minister, Hussein Arab, quoted in a newspaper called 26 September, said five policemen were killed in a series of armed robberies since 1994. The arrests were carried out last week in Ibb province, some 170 kilometres (100 miles) from Sanaa.

"Other members of the group are still at large," Arab said, without giving a number.

The suspects stand accused of "acts of subversion" aimed at destabilising the country, the minister said.

In October, Yemeni authorities setup a special court to speed up sabotage trials and the multiple cases in which foreigners have been kidnapped. Both offences are punishable by the death sentence.ÑAFP