Wadi Dawan ( ar, وَادِي دَوْعَن, Wādī Daw‘an) is a town and desert valley in central
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. Located in
Hadhramaut Governorate
Hadhramaut or Hadramawt or Hadramout ( ar, حضرموت ''Ḥaḍramawt'') is a governorate of Yemen. Lying within the large historical region of Hadhramaut, it is the country's largest governorate.
The capital of Hadhramut is the city of Muk ...
, it is noted for its mud brick buildings.
Modern history
On January 18, 2008,
an ambush attack on
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
tourists traveling in a convoy through the valley took place. A convoy of four jeeps carrying 15 tourists to
Shibam
Shibam Hadramawt ( ar, شِبَام حَضْرَمَوْت, Shibām Ḥaḍramawt) is a town in Yemen. With about 7,000 inhabitants, it is the seat of the District of Shibam in the Governorate of Hadhramaut. Known for its mudbrick-made high-r ...
were ambushed by gunmen in a hidden pickup truck.
Two Belgian women, Claudine Van Caillie, of
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population.
The area of the whole city a ...
, 63, and Katrine Glorie, from
East Flanders
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Province of Belgium
, image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg
, flag_size =
, image_shield = Wapen van O ...
, 54, as well as two Yemenis, a driver and a guide, were killed; another man was also heavily wounded, several others suffered minor wounds.
[Deux Belges tuées au Yémen]
''Le Soir'', January 18, 2008. The tourists were repatriated to Belgium on January 19, except the injured man, who remained in Sana'a.
[Yémen: les touristes belges rapatriés]
''Le Soir'', January 19, 2008.
In the wake of the attack, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karel De Gucht originally rejected that Al-Qaeda might be responsible, explaining that although the possibility could be avoided, internecine disputes and latent Islamism also to be taken into account.
A number of arrests were made on January 21.
[Plusieurs suspects arrêtés au Yémen]
''Le Soir'', January 21, 2008.
See also
* Hadhramaut Mountains
References
External links
Yemen Sidr Royal Honey: Wadi Do'anYEMEN: WADI DOWAN IN HADRAMOUT(YouTube)
HADRAMAOUT (Yemen) Wadi Do'An
Valleys of Yemen
Populated places in Hadhramaut Governorate
Geography of Yemen
{{Hadhramaut-geo-stub