Sanaa (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Yemeni government has canceled a planned military parade today to celebrate the reunification of the country, following the deadly suicide attack yesterday that caused hundreds of deaths among soldiers and about 300 wounded. Responsibility for the massacre in the capital city of Sanaa was claimed by a terrorist group affiliated with al Qaeda and was meant to strike the Minister of Defense Mohamed Nasser Ahmed, who was attending the preparations for the celebration. The senior official in Yemen was not harmed by the explosion, but the fundamentalists threaten new attacks and say they are ready to strike other sensitive targets. The United Nations Security Council condemned the suicide bombing "in the strongest terms", branding it a "heinous act" and reiterated the fight against "all forms of terrorism."
In place of the military parade, today a "symbolic" ceremony is being held in Sanaa at the Academy of Defence and Aviation, which will be attended by the Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi; at the same time he reaffirmed the "war on terrorism, regardless of the sacrifices" that will be needed to win the battle.
Yesterday a suicide bomber, hidden among the soldiers engaged in the preparations for the festival, blew hiimself up, causing at least 96 dead and 300 wounded. The gesture was claimed by the group "Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula", a local movement affiliated with the international network of terror.
The massacre was carried out in connection with a multi-pronged offensive launched in May, with the aim of hitting the jihadi groups in the towns of southern Yemen, where the presence of al Qaeda is strongest. The offensive in Abyan has resulted so far in 234 deaths, including 158 militants, 41 members of the military, 18 extremists in the area and 17 civilians.
Yesterday, meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack in Sanaa in person, and he invited all Yemeni factions to reject violence and to "play a full and constructive role in implementing Yemen's political transition agreement". Together with the chief diplomat of the United Nations, many world leaders have expressed their outrage at the attack, branded a "cowardly" by the United States and "despicable" by the new French President Francois Hollande.