Saada Again
This thing just won’t end. To follow, two versions of the same story. The truth may lie somewhere in the middle but then again, so do the civilians:
SAADA, Jan 28 — Local sources in the governorate of Saada said that the Yemeni armed forces confronted a group affiliated to Zaidi-Shiite Leader Badr al-Deen al-Houthi in Mathaab village located in the southern part the governorate. The exchange of fire resulted in over 26 casualties involving soliders, while the number of causlties among Al-Huthi followers has not been confirmed as the clash continues.
The armed clash between the two sides disrupted a cease-fire agreement signed between the al-Houthi followers and local authorities in 2005. Mr. AbdulMalik Al-Huthi, who is the son of Badr al-Deen al-Houti, confirmed that the arbitration committee set to solve the previous disputes with the authorities has been notified of the attack. He warned that this attack has violated the cease-fire agreement and will spark violence in the governorate. He also added that there is no clear reason for the attacks against civilians in the area.
Al-Huthi further noted this attack came after his followers received leaflets which target the beliefs and foundations of the Zaidi Islamic sect, adding that residents of Mathaab area are being targeted and discriminated against because of their religious beliefs and affiliation with Zaidi cleric Al-Huthi.
The attack on the Mathaab village came a few days after 45 Yemeni Jews evacuated their homes in Saada upon receiving threats from al-Houthi followers, an issue which raised concern around the situation of Yemeni Jews living in Saada
Sources close to Al-Huthi group, which is also known as the Believing Youth, indicate that they have nothing against the Jewish community and that al-Houthis did not threaten them or their livelihood in any way, adding that the government is using different tactics to distress them and use this problem to suppress them even further.
According to local sources in the province, the threatened Jews are still residing in a Hotel in Saada city and have not yet been able to return to their homes for fear of loosing their lives as the person who sent the threatening letter has not been identified.
SANAA, Yemen (Reuters) — Six Yemeni soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded when Shi’ite rebels attacked state forces in a northern province, a government official said on Sunday.
“A group of saboteurs led by Abdul-Malek al-Houthi carried out a rare attack yesterday (Saturday) on locations belonging to the armed forces and security in the province of Saada,” the official said in a statement sent to Reuters.
Anti-U.S. Shi’ite Houthi is the son of Sheikh Badr el-Deen al-Houthi and the brother of slain cleric Hussein, who sought to set up a Shi’ite regime. Hussein was killed in 2004 and his father’s whereabouts are unknown.
“The local authority and the armed and security forces in the province of Saada … will carry out their duties in preserving security and stability and ending these acts of sabotage carried out by these criminals,” the statement by the Saada security committee, quoted the official as saying.
The official did not name the installations targeted.
Yemen has accused the rebels led by the Houthi clerics of wanting to install Shi’ite religious rule and of preaching violence against the United States.
In March 2006, Yemen freed more than 600 of the rebels as part of an amnesty that aims to put an end to two years of clashes that have killed several hundred soldiers and rebels.
Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, joined the U.S.-led war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Houthi’s supporters are not linked to al Qaeda. Sunni Muslims make up most of Yemen’s 19 million population, while Shi’ite Muslims account for about 15 percent.
IHT:
About 45 Jewish Yemenis have taken refuge in a hotel in the northern province of Saada after receiving threats from anti-Western rebels, one of Yemenis who fled said Monday.
Yemen’s president on Monday warned the rebels to surrender after a weekend of fighting and artillery bombardments in which at least 13 rebels and soldiers were killed.
“The situation today is calm,” an Interior Ministry official said Monday, after a night of shelling of rebel positions in the mountains of Saada. Security forces had detained 12 members of the rebel faction led by Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi, the official added.
Aides to al-Hawthi said the state had detained more than 12 rebels, and that seven other rebels had been killed and four wounded during the weekend.
The rebels are a Shiite Muslim group known as “The Young Faithful Believers” which accuses the government of being corrupt and too close to the West.
The Jewish Yemenis, including women and children, left Al-Salem area to Saada and were given refuge by the government in a Paris hotel after receiving threats, said Dawoud Yosef, 23, a silversmith, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the hotel.
“This is the first time we face such serious threats or problems, we have always been living like the rest of Yemenis,” Yosef said.
Yemen had about 70,000 Jews before the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, most of whom have since left. Up to 400 are still believed to be in Yemen.
The aides accused the government of rejecting a rebel call for a cease-fire and the formation of a committee to investigate the reasons behind the clashes with al-Hawthi’s group, which first took up arms in 2004. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because they fear government reprisal.
In a speech broadcast on state radio, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said the “al-Hawthi followers should surrender their weapons.”
“We have given our warning, so we cannot be blamed,” he added, in a traditional Islamic phrase for an ultimatum that frees oneself of guilt before God for the consequences if the warning is ignored.
Police said Sunday that six Yemeni soldiers and police officers had been killed and 20 others wounded in the clashes in Saada, about 120 kilometers (112 miles) north of the Yemeni capital. But the rebels say eight security force members were killed and 31 wounded.
The rebellion began in June 2004 when the Shiite cleric Hussein Badr Eddin al-Hawthi, the brother of the current leader, ordered his followers to revolt against the government, which had accused him of sedition, forming an illegal armed group and inciting anti-American sentiment.
The cleric was killed in clashes with government troops in September 2004, but his followers sustained the rebellion until March 2006 when the president pardoned and released 627 rebels from detention. The government then said the pardon was motivated by the desire to “achieve security and stability and to restore quiet.”
The Young Faithful Believers is known for incitement against the United Sates and Israel, but is not linked to the al-Qaida terror network, whose members have carried out a number of attacks in Yemen.
The Yemeni government supports the U.S. campaign against international terrorism and has received U.S. military training and aid.
Military sources affirmed that they found 4 rebel bodies close to a military position in Alsafra area, Saada. They said that they thought that these bodies were killed during the infighting on Monday. Moveover,tow other bodies were reportedly discovered in Alsafra district.
Meanwhile, Alsahwa was informed that a mediation involved Sheikhs and tribal leaders went to Alhouthi followers in order to make out their requirements.
The sources explained that the area witnessed calmness after 8 troops were killed and two wounded on Monday.
