Saddah
First, with reference to the following article a little translation is in order: fighters = internal jihaddist paramilitary -ie, the Abyan Aden Islamic Army, the Afghan Arab returns, newly arrived Islamists from Somalia. Anyways, no no no the military says the jihaddis are not fighting on the government side in Saadah. (Unlike 2005 and pray tell where are those lovely Baathiis?) But the regime cut the phones, so its not verifiable either way.
Strategically the importance of Saadah is that its one of the last dominos preventing radical Salifism from sweeping from Saudi Arabia, unopposed through Yemen and into the Horn of Africa. The Saudis by proxy are funding and encouraging Wahabbism in Yemen. To a significant degree there is a Saudi hand in the Yemeni regime’s overbearing response to the Houthis, in part to forstall the posibility of Saudi Arabia’s own suppressed Shiite minority from taking a cue from the activist Shiite Zaidi community on Saudi Arabia’s southern border in Saddah.
The discrepency between the Yemeni regime’s treatment of al-Qaeda types and Houthis is glaring apparent, including the supposedly damning charge that the Houthis want to re-establish an Imaminate while the extremist ideology that proposes the establishment of a Caliphate is broadly encouraged by the regime. However, it is unclear what the Houthis domestic political agenda is even at this point (and they only have a domestic agenda) which makes the bombardment of Saddah all the more shocking.
Senior military source denied reports that talked about using fighters and artillery in clashes with the rebels in Sa’dah governorate.
“The government troops are still awaiting the top leadership to issue directions to fight rebels under AbdulMalik Al-Houthi. The top leadership is awaiting the outcomes of mediation’s efforts which have been attempted earlier to persuade rebels to surrender their heavy weapons and come back their homes. What is going on in Sa’dah district is only intermittent clashes with rebels trying to target armed forces and security men and citizens also by a means of putting ambushes beside highways”, Al-Motammer net reported.
The source added the rebels were breaking off roads and putting ambushes in the main road which linked Sa’dah governorate with other districts and opened fire at sites manned by government troops. The source also hinted that the rebels used different weapons such as heavy machine gun, mortars, 75 artillery, RPG and snipers, the matters which enforced military forces men to chase them by using the same weapons, denied using of any fighters in clashes with the rebels.
Then there’s the letter, denial, and denial of the letter.
Conflicting reports from observers indicate the Yemeni government is the one who blocked the roads, thereby preventing wounded Yemeni civilians from reaching hospitals. On the other hand, here’s a standard analysis from IHT:
SAN’A, Yemen
Sixteen security forces and 69 rebels have been killed over the past three days in ongoing clashes between the Yemeni army and followers of a Shiite rebel leader the northern part of the country, Yemeni military officials said Tuesday.An army official said government forces have fired artillery bombardments over the areas where followers of Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi are believed to using as hideouts in Saada, about 112 miles (180.24 kilometers) north of the Yemeni capital, San’a. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The official said along with the security forces and rebels killed, about 50 other militant rebels also have been arrested. A total of 80 rebels and 94 army and police officers have been killed in recent weeks.
The fighting comes as members of the Yemen Supreme Defense Council voiced concerns during a meeting on Tuesday, saying the Shiite rebels were receiving funds and assistance from outside countries, according to one of the council’s members.
The council said Yemen should “reconsider its relations with some countries, which are meddling in Yemen affairs,” the member said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The member declined to mention which countries the council meant. But local state-owned newspapers reported that governments suspects that Iran and Libya are backing the rebellion.
Al-Hawthi denied in an interview with al-Nada, a local independent paper, that his group had Iranian or Libyan links and accused the government of resorting to violence to end the conflict, instead of taking peaceful paths.
The rebels are a Shiite Muslim group known as “The Young Faithful Believers” that accuse the government of being corrupt and too close to the West.
The government has been fighting the rebels since June 2004 when rebel Shiite cleric Hussein Badr Eddin al-Hawthi — of the al-Hawthi tribe — led his forces in an uprising.
The cleric was killed in clashes with government troops in September 2004. Some 727 officers and police have been killed since then until beginning of the latest confrontation, which started late last month.
Yemen’s parliament on Tuesday also decided to give the government all the powers to curb the rebellion.
Abdel-Aziz Abdel-Ghani, of the upper house of the Yemeni parliament, described al-Hawthi rebels as “terrorist group.”
“They are tailoring evil conspiracies, supported by inside parties and outsiders whom they are in contact with, and whom they receive a financial support from,” he said.
But opposition and human rights groups denounced the parliament decision, citing concerns over civilians death in crossfire.
Sutlan al-Samai, an opposition lawmaker, described the parliament decision as “dangerous” and said that those who voted in favor of this decision, “will bear the historical consequences for the bloodshed in Saada.”
The government had accused Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi of sedition, forming an illegal armed group and inciting anti-American sentiment. His loyalists say authorities have tried to silence the cleric’s criticism of corruption.
str-mm-aj
A cousin, a brother anybody they can get their hands on:
Sources close to Alhouthi’s family affirmed to Alsahwa that Abdul-Krim Alhouth , the rebellion leader’s cousin was detained Tuesday in Sana’a after he was summoned by the Interior Ministry.
Abdul-Karim’s son, Mohammad, said that his father along with two other people was called by the authorities and the people came back, while his father stayed held.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni authorities demanded the Interpol to hand over the brother of Saada rebellion leader, Yahya Alhouth, residing in Germany.
Local sources in Saada Governorate confirmed that 12 individuals of rebels were killed in the clashes erupted in a number of Saada’ districts yesterday night.
The sources said that the government could control some positions which Alhouthi followers were seizing.
On the other hand ,military source denied news that government used warplanes and artillery attacks against the rebels.
Local sources in Saada Province affirmed that a high-raking commander was killed and his escorts were wounded in ambush in Saada.
The source said that the officer, Mohammed Jaber was killed while his escorts were immediately taken to hospital.
They explained to Alsahwa that the road linking between Yemen and Saudi were blocked by the government, confirming that warplanes are taking part in the clashes erupted between the government and rebels leaded by Abul-Malik Alhouthi .
