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.  "The government is insisting on finding these terrorists and bringing them to justice, because we will never allow Yemen to be a safe haven for al Qaeda," al-Alimi said.  Human rights groups warned that the military offensive had displaced thousands of people.  The Yemen Red Crescent Society estimated that 12,000 local residents have fled their homes in Shabwa province. And Amnesty International urged officials to take urgent measures to protect citizens.  "The Yemeni authorities must ensure as a matter of urgency that what amounts to a shocking number of people displaced in the space of a few days are adequately provided for," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.  "The authorities have a duty to ensure public safety and must immediately fulfil the needs of the displaced in terms of food, water, shelter and medical care, particularly for those who may have been injured during their escape," he said in a statement.  Yemen's offshoot al Qaeda element grabbed the attention of the West with the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines trans-Atlantic flight as it landed in Detroit, Michigan, on December 25.  The suspect, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, who has pleaded not guilty to six federal terrorism charges, was reportedly trained and armed in Yemen by al-Awlaki.
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