Yemen rejects al-Qaeda truce bid

Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has rejected efforts by clerics and tribal chiefs to broker a truce with al-Qaeda, insisting that the militants must lay down their arms, an official said yesterday.
The mediators, who launched the initiative in January, had already revealed in a statement on February 5 that their efforts had run into trouble.
They said Hadi had refused to sign up to a truce proposal which had been accepted by AQAP chief Nasser al-Wahishi.