Sa’ada Update
No news on the six missing westerners. Fighting reduced, army moving. US denies claims of mapping project. 1200 remain in jail despite Saleh’s order to the contrary and the truce agreement.
SA’ADA, July 1 — The Sa’ada governorate has been relatively calm for the past few days, after a recent series of armed conflicts between the state and the Houthi movement.
The fights were focused on the northern and western areas along the coastal line of the Red Sea, near the Saudi border. Dozens of causalities from both sides were reported last week, although no specific numbers were identified.
The government army is gradually heading towards the Midi area, which is known as a Houthi strategic location. Houthi spokesperson Saleh Habra said that the state is intensifying its presence throughout the governorate and creating army strongholds in an attempt to surround Houthi militants.
He restated his claim that a team of American and British military surveillance choppers are assisting the Yemeni government by drawing detailed maps of areas controlled by Houthis, a claim that had been denied directly by the American embassy in Sana’a.
“Our intelligence has found out that a team of three Americans and two British mapping experts have been flying over our territory for more than a month. They are identifying our locations in order to target us with rockets and artillery in preparation for a sixth war with us,” Habra insisted.
Local sources on the Saudi borders have complained of heavy armed clashes during the last week, which indicates that the Houthi movement is still fighting. The sources claim that Saudi Arabian officials at the boarders are worried that Yemen may not be able to control Houthi militants, especially in coastal areas that link Yemen and the kingdom.
And as tensions continue to simmer, 74 families of men detained without charges because they are suspected of Houthi affiliation held their 16th sit-in last Tuesday at Freedom Square in front of the cabinet offices in Sana’a. They demanded that the president’s orders to release the 1200 men be carried out.
