Armies of Liberation

Dammaj is a famous Salafi Islamic Institute in Saada. As usual, there are at least two versions of the story.

First version from the ruling party, a French student walking down the street gets killed by Houthis.

almotamar.net – Sources said the killing incident took place when students were walking in a street when some terrorist elements attacked them.

The sources pointed out that two students were killed Monday in Saada, one of them a French citizen living in Yemen to study Arabic language at Damaj Institute in the governorate. The attack also resulted in injury of other students.

The second version of the story comes from al-Estraki.net, the YSP’s website, which says three foreign students at Dammaj were killed. The school had been provided arms by the government, and the enthusiastic students established a checkpoint. In a shootout at the checkpoint with Houthi fighters, three Dammaaj students were killled: one Frenchman, one American, and one unidentified foreigner.

OK, the third version is from Islah’s paper, al-Sahwa: Houthis assualt Dammaj school. One British, a French and an Algerian killed.

al-Sahwa: Local sources affirmed Monday that British and French students who were studding at Dmaj Centre for Islamic studies were killed. They also said that an Algerian was wounded in an assault that targeted the centre.

The source cited that the centre was subjected to a similar assault last Wednesday in Saada by a Shiite rebel group, al-Houthi rebels.

On the other hand ,some sources said that al-Houthi followers could kidnap two soldiers in an abrupt assault in the area which had been controlled by the government forces .

They also asserted that three volunteers who were fighting with the government were killed by al-Houthi rebels.

Version four, the BBC:

SANAA (AFP) – A French and a British student, both Muslims, were killed in an attack by Shiite rebels on a Sunni Islamic college in a restive region of Yemen, a tribal source said Monday.

An Algerian student was also wounded in the attack which took place on Sunday, in the northern province of Saada, where Zaidi minority rebels are fighting government forces, the source told AFP requesting anonymity.

He said that the students were part of a group who were guarding the school at night.

The British and French embassies in Sanaa were not immediately available for comment.

Dozens of foreign students attend the school for Islamic studies at Dammaj, which is run by a Sunni Salafist group, the source added.

Sunni Salifists consider Shiite Muslims as heretics.

The Zaidis are an offshoot of Shiite Islam dominant in northwestern Yemen but form a minority in the mainly Sunni country. They began fighting government forces in 2004, since when hundreds have been killed.

The rebellion — which the government claimed to have crushed in April 2005 — flared up again in January following a presidential ultimatum for the rebels to disarm.

The rebels reject as illegitimate the current Yemeni authorities who seized power in a 1962 coup known as the September 26 revolution, overthrowing a Zaidi imamate.

mmmm, no I dont think the rebels see the republican regime as illegitimate, considering Hussain al-Houthi was a member of Parliament, as is Yahya al-Houthi.

So did the students attack the Houthis at a check-point the Dammaj students created, or did the Houthis attack the institute at Dammaaj? Yemen, land of a thousand realities. Over the last years, the Houthis have restricted themselves to military targets, unlike the regime.

Update: al-Tagheer quotes the al-Estraki story that the students set up a check point and also notes the 26 Sept says the Houthis attacked the school.

The Scotsman says there are about a dozen international students, but the source of the story is the regime. The previous AFP/BBC article says dozens of international students.

SANAA (Reuters) – A French student and a Yemeni man were killed and another Frenchman was wounded on Monday when Shi’ite rebels attacked an Islamic college in a volatile area in northern Yemen, a government official said. Earlier the official said two foreigners were killed in the attack.

A Frenchman, identified by the official only as Patrick, was killed, and a French student of Algerian origin was wounded. The attack, in which a Yemeni man was also killed, took place in the province of Saada where government forces have been battling Shi’ite rebels since the beginning of this year.

Residents said about a dozen international students attended the Dammaj Institute for Islamic studies. Many had feared such attacks because of the clashes in the region.

Yemen said on Friday 15 Shi’ite rebels were killed in a battle with Yemeni soldiers.

Government officials say at least 290 rebels and 132 soldiers have been killed in the clashes. The rebels have denied those numbers but given none of their own.

YO: Walking or guarding the school, or walking while guarding the school:

Two students, one of them French, of a Salafi institute in Sa’ada were killed in an attack carried out by al-Houthi followers, said officials Monday. “Elements of the terrorists Abdul Malek al-Houthi and Abdullah al-Ruzami attacked today a number of students of the Damaj institute in Sa’ada province.

While some students were walking on a road, the terrorists attacked them, killing two of them, one Yemeni and one French, who were studying Arabic language at the institute,” said the Defense Ministry website, 26sep.net, quoting an unidentified security source. The official also said that several other students were injured. The source said the students were part of a group guarding the Sunni religious school at night. Dozens of foreign students attend the Damaj school, the source added.

The Damaj institute is run by Salafis, who are in disagreement with the al-Houthis. Meanwhile, official sources said that Yahya al-Khodhair had died after he was injured in battle with the government troops three days ago in al-Salem. Al-Khodhair, leader of the al-Houthi followers in al-Salem, was the one who threatened the 45 Yemeni Jews of al-Salem, triggering the war. Local sources said that the rebels are resorting to using motorcycles for carrying out their operations against the troops.

IHT

SAN’A, Yemen: Members of a Shiite rebel group attacked students enrolled in a fundamentalist Sunni Muslim religious school Monday, killing a Frenchman and a Briton and wounding several others, according to Yemeni provincial officials.

But tribesmen said the students were fighting alongside government forces and tribal volunteers against “the Young Faithful Believers.” The Shiite Muslim group is led by Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi.

The tribesmen reported clashes Monday in al-Khanajer Mountains, which is several kilometers (miles) north of Saada, where the students’ Dammaj School is located. The tribesmen spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The Saada governor’s office issued a statement saying that “terrorist members of the al-Hawthi group attacked a group of students enrolled in Dammaj School, killing two students.”

The statement did not say where the attack occurred. It said the students were studying Arabic at the school, one of the biggest religious learning centers in Yemen.

From a blog

Two Students killed in Dar al-Hadith by Followers of Al-Houthi.
- Dammaj, Yemen

Just like the last round of sad news, it seems two foreign Stuents of Knowledge were killed in Yemen.

The following is my brief translation of this Arabic Article published yesterday. I came across it last night.

According to official sources, two foreign students –on of them of French nationality– were killed today in an attack on students of the Dar al-Hadith institute in the village of Dammaj. This attack, the first of it’s kind, was carried out by followers of al-Houthi, a local Shiitie Rebel Leader.

According to some local Yemeni websites:

The encounter took place when some of al-Houthi’s followers attacked a group of students from the Salafi institute.
The students “were standing guard, which was a newly enforced measure” after the Government had reportedly “armed them and a groupd of students from the Salafi institute to confront the followers of al-Houti.”
The encounter took place “during the passing of a patrol of al-Houthi’s followers in the area”.

Some sources in San`aa’, close to the Administration of the institute reaffirmed, “The Institute commonly stays under tight security measures.” He also negated the “possibility of suporters of the Institute taking part in any armed confrontation with al-Houthi’s followers in the Sa`dah region.” Saying, “Our task is one of Da`wah (Islamic Propagation), not a Military one. We don’t take part in any armed struggle against that Rafidhi (Shiite) Rebellion which is present in the villages around the city of Sa`dah.” The source also mentioned his sorrow on hearing news of the institute in Dammaj coming under armed attack. He went on to say, “The Institute was established by Shaikh Muqbil bin Haadee al-Waadi`ee –rahimahullah (may Allah have mercy on him)– more than two decades ago and the people of the area have never known it to be anything other than a peaceful institution which calls to Allah through speech and intellect. Leaving ‘Da`wah by hand’ (using forecul measures) to the Authorities.”

He added that, “Despite the fact that Shaikh Muqbil and his followers would openly call to Allah and denouncing Shirk (Polytheism), Bid`ah (Innovation in religious matters) and Rafdh (Being of Shiite methodology), the School has never been associated with any armed encounter.” He then reaffirmed that, “The Center will continue the task of Shaikh Muqbil by defending the Sunnah (teachings of Prophet Muhammad) and defense of the Companions of the Prophet –sallallaahi `alaihi wa sallam (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)– and the correct teachings of Islam, regardless of how many attempts there are to hamper it.”

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, also fiercely refuted the notion that al-Houthi’s followers conceal hatred for the Salafi Da`wah.”
He found it strange that, “Some people are trying to make this a sectarian conflict. This (al-Houthi’s followers) is an oppressive group that has rebelled against the Government. It is the Government, now, who strives to execute its authority in the region, keen on the service of its citizens”, as he put it.