Houthi Crisis Escalating
SA’ADA, Feb. 4 — Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, leader of the rebellion in Sa’ada, located 245 km. north of Sana’a, said Sunday that he’s ready to surrender to Sa’ada’s governor, but on condition that his followers may live in safety and the army must abide by the truce signed by the governor and endorsed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He also conditioned that the Yemeni government compensate those affected by the war, release detainees and withdraw its troops from the province.
While the army has given Al-Houthi followers a 48-hour deadline to give up and surrender their arms, Sa’ada city residents confirmed that they still heard the sound of artillery bombardments in various areas of the restive province throughout the night until Sunday morning.
“One senior military officer and an effective commander of military units in Sa’ada stressed Friday evening that military forces had completed their preparation to wage a war with a wider scope against Al-Houthi loyalists. War will begin in the coming hours on all fronts, including the areas of Al-Naqa’a, Madhab, Al-Refraf and Al-Saifi, unless Abdulmalik Al-Houthi and his aides surrender before the deadline,” Al-Ishtiraki Net quoted well-informed sources in Sana’a as saying.
According to these sources, the chief commander of military units in Sa’ada on Friday rejected any mediation efforts between the government and Al-Houthi followers. The sources believe mediation is behind continuing the fighting for more than three years.
President Saleh last week demanded Abdulmalik Al-Houthi and his tribesmen surrender their heavy arms; otherwise, they shouldn’t blame the government for any consequence after such warning.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera television, Tareq Al-Shami, the ruling party’s media and culture officer, listed three conditions for Al-Houthi loyalists so that the Yemeni army will stop pursuing them: surrender their heavy arms, hand over those who fired upon armed forces and cease any political activities contravening Yemeni law and its Constitution.
In a letter to members of Yemen’s Parliament, Al-Houthi urged the parliamentarians to support the oppressed and those who are right, as well as play an integral role in solving the issues. “Your responsibility before Allah and people isn’t easy. You must take an effective role in settling this crisis because Sa’ada is part of Yemen,” he wrote.
“We, along with the mediation committee and the state’s representatives, reached an agreement to tackle the issue. No one from our side broke the agreement; however, both we and the mediators are shocked at the most recent escalation by government forces,” the rebellion leader went on to say.
“The government waged a media campaign against us, followed by a military campaign in the area of Madhab without any justification or reason. The army killed and wounded several of our locals, who were compelled to defend themselves. This was followed by threats of waging a wider ranging war upon us and our sect.”
He added that the mediation committee informed the group about President Saleh’s threats to attack their area. “Saleh breached all of the agreements and truces and gave us less than a three-hour deadline to surrender ourselves and our weapons and descend from the mountains where we’ve been living after our houses were demolished,” Al-Houthi decried.
Concluding his letter, Al-Houthi said, “We confirm to you [MPs] and the entire world that we are abiding by the agreement reached with the mediation committee. We appeal to you and everyone to learn about our oppression and contribute to the safety of civilians and military troops because war will swallow everything green and dried.”
In previous statements to Al-Jazeera television, Al-Houthi emphasized that he’s ready for any possible solution to the bloodshed and denied that his aides possess heavy arms, adding that his tribesmen have only simple arms like those ordinary Yemeni citizens possess.
According to unconfirmed reports, threats of a war with a wider scope are in response to Al-Houthi’s comments to Al-Jazeera last week. The mediation committee’s meeting with Al-Houthi aides hasn’t come up with any solution following military commanders’ refusal to accept any reconciliation with Al-Houthi.
Military commanders want Abdulmalik Al-Houthi to surrender within 48 hours without any conditions or restrictions. This was understood as a military escalation by authorities, as well as a refusal of any mediation efforts aimed at stopping the bloodshed in Sa’ada.
Political observers warn that the situation in Sa’ada may become riskier, thereby increasing the death toll of both parties in the fighting. Due to the risky situation in the northern governorate, the National Defense Council met last Saturday, chaired by President Saleh as the High Commander of the Armed Forces, in the presence of the Supreme Security Committee and numerous officials who listened to the development of events in Sa’ada. The council usually meets in similar cases requiring making a decision for war.
Some Al-Houthi supporters say they’re ready to sign a cease-fire with government troops on condition that the latter withdraw from the area, pointing out that they nominated Sa’ada’s governor to form a committee to investigate the events of the past two days. They urged those with clear consciences to help them end the crisis.
Official sources said via Al-Motamar Net, mouthpiece of the ruling party, that “A committee made up of religious clerics and social personalities is attempting to persuade Al-Houthi-led rebels to stop clashing with the army, vacate their positions and surrender their arms.”
The Shoura Council called on all Yemeni parties to meet this past Sunday to discuss various issues, including the Sa’ada clashes. The council’s invitation followed a Yemeni Socialist Party statement demanding that the fighting be investigated.
According to speculations, the Shoura Council – instead of the ruling party – called on the Yemeni parties to stop upholding fighting in the province, which has experienced excessive military presence within the past few days, and condemn the Al-Houthi-led rebellion.
Sources closer to the mediation committee reveal that the committee suggested a cease-fire between the fighting parties, while the government should be committed to fulfill President Saleh’s promises regarding approving compensation for war victims. Following a cease-fire, Abdulmalik Al-Houthi and Abdullah Al-Rizami may go to Sana’a to meet with Saleh, according to the sources.
Special sources affirmed to Alsahwa that Abdul Malik Alhouthi, the leader of rebellion in Saada, announced his readiness to surrender himself for the authorities after mediation of the speaker of the parliament Sheikh Abullah Bin Hussain Alahmer .
Top military sources said that Abdul Malik Alhouthi and his followers have agreed to surrender themselves and their weapons according to conditions which are being negotiated under auspice of Alahmer.
The area had seen bloody confrontations today’s morning, but there was relative calmness after announcement of the mediation.
GT: Yemen planning all-out assault on rebel fightersPublished: Sunday, 4 February, 2007, 08:54 AM Doha Time
SANA’A: Yemeni military forces were preparing to launch a major onslaught on Shia rebel fighters in the northern province of Saada if they do not agree to surrender, government sources said yesterday.
The sources said Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh met senior army and police commanders in the capital Sana’a on the proper action against armed followers of rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
Houthi and scores of his backers had been stuck in a standoff with army forces in the northern province of Saada, some 230km north of Sana’a, since armed confrontations between the two sides renewed in late December.
At least 11 army and police troops and an unknown number of rebel fighters were killed in the fighting during the past week.
The state news agency Saba said Saleh headed a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council that discussed “the recent developments in Saada and acts committed by the terrorist elements against army and police troops.”
The council “took the needed decisions … that would establish security and stability,” said the agency without providing more details.
It was widely expected that the army would strike locations of the al-Houthi supporters in Saada within the next 24 hours if they refused to respond to Saleh’s call to them to disarm.
Last week, Saleh warned the rebels they could face a military campaign if they do not lay down their arms.
Several districts in Saada, which borders Saudi Arabia, were the scene of bloody clashes since confrontations renewed between government forces and the Houthis on December 27.
Residents of areas on the road linking Sana’a with Saada said military reinforcements, including tanks, were seen heading to Saada early yesterday morning.
Officials have accused al-Houthi, son of prominent Shia cleric Badruddin al-Houthi, of leading remnants of the outlawed Believing Youth group, which was established by his elder brother Hussein al-Houthi in 2004.
Well-armed Houthis have repeatedly involved in bloody confrontations with government forces in Saada since their slain leader Hussein declared a rebellion early in 2004.
Government forces engaged in fierce battles in April 2006 with armed followers of the hardline group that officials said was inciting against the United States and Israel.
In May 2006, President Saleh announced a general amnesty for the Houthis after government forces crushed their rebellion and captured their mountain strongholds in Saada.
Hussein al-Houthi was killed by the army in September 2004.
Some 525 troops and hundreds of rebels were killed in fighting in 2006 that followed the first three-month revolt that left more than 400 insurgents and troops dead.- DPA
ABC: At least 42 Yemeni soldiers have been killed and 81 wounded in over a week of sporadic clashes with Shiite Muslim rebels in the north of the country, a Yemeni official has said.
The official said the casualty toll had been cited in a report presented by Yemen’s national security chief, Ali al-Ansi, to the country’s consultative council.
Yemeni government forces have clashed with rebels officials say are led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, son of Sheikh Badr el-Deen al-Houthi and brother of anti-American cleric Hussein al-Houthi who was killed in 2004.
Yemen has accused the rebels of wanting to install Shiite religious rule in the country and preaching violence against the United States.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh warned the rebels after the latest bout of violence, which began late last month, to surrender their weapons or face a showdown.
Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, joined the US-led war on terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States. But Mr Houthi’s supporters are not linked to Al Qaeda.
Sunni Muslims make up most of Yemen’s 19 million population, while Shiite Muslims are estimated at about 15 per cent.
