Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Yemeni forces have laid siege to a southern town believed to be a militant stronghold in what amounts to an intensified effort to combat terrorism, a senior defense official said Thursday.
Human rights groups, meanwhile, have voiced concerns about thousands of people displaced in the escalation of fighting.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Rashad al-Alimi, Yemen's deputy prime minister for defense and security, said Yemeni forces have surrounded the village of Hawta in southern Shabwa province, a stronghold for the offshoot terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Yemeni forces are also tracking the movements of U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim cleric who is one of the leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He is believed to be holed up in the Rafad Valley of Shabwa.
Al-Alimi said security forces have surrounded that area, where they have launched previous offensives against al Qaeda elements.
He said the militants have attempted to use local residents as human shields, but Yemen is determined to wipe out extreme elements.
CNN
