Reuters: – A gunman opened fire on a U.S. security team as it trained Yemeni soldiers in the south of the country, the Pentagon and a security official said on Friday, both denying reports from an Islamist group that a CIA officer was killed in the assault.

In the north of the country, a bomb blast hit an anti-U.S. protest, injuring at least 22 people, a rebel group that controls much of the region said.

Fighting with northern “Houthi” rebels and southern militants are among a list of challenges facing Yemen’s new president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a man Washington was hoping could end a year of turmoil in the country, which is near key oil shipping routes.

Ansar al-Sharia, a Yemen-based Islamist group linked to al Qaeda, said it had attacked and killed a U.S. officer in the south on Thursday.

“The mujihadeen (holy warriors) killed a CIA officer on Thursday while he was in Aden province, after tracking him and determining he was cooperating with the Sanaa government,” it said in a text message sent to journalists in Yemen.

A Yemeni security official in Aden, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a gunman fired on a U.S. security team on Thursday, but the shots had hit their armored vehicle without injuring anyone.

In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed that a gunman fired several shots at an armored vehicle carrying a U.S. security team in Yemen and that no one was injured.

Fears that political turmoil in Yemen would embolden al Qaeda’s wing in the country led Washington and Gulf Arab states to broker the exit of Hadi’s predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh after a year of mass protests against his rule.

Saleh’s exit made him the fourth Arab leader removed from power since mass uprisings and war swept east from Tunisia in late 2010, rattling U.S. client states and foes alike.

Hadi, who won a one-candidate election to replace Saleh last week, has promised to lead Yemen to new elections, create a new constitution and a reform the military within two years.

He inherits multiple conflicts including clashes with secessionists in the south and a long-simmering insurgency in the north.

Islamist militants took control of swathes of territory in southern Yemen during the struggle over Saleh’s fate, and hold the city of Zinjibar in southern Abyan province.

PROTEST BOMB “INJURES 22″

A bomb exploded during a protest against U.S. involvement in Yemen on Friday, injuring 22 people in the north of the country, the leader of Shi’ite Muslim rebels that control the area said.

In a statement, the leader of the Houthi movement – Shi’ite rebels that Yemen’s military tried to crush in campaigns in 2004-2009 – said the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa was personally responsible for the bombing in Saada, near the Saudi border.

“The one behind this attack is the U.S. ambassador and his agents,” Abdel Malek al-Houthi said. “It targets our rejection of foreign interference from the ambassador such as interfering in the structure of the army … and his satanic efforts to change its creed.”

The region has seen fighting in recent months between the Houthis and Sunni Muslims espousing puritanical Salafi doctrines influential in Saudi Arabia that cast Shi’ites as heretics. The Houthis have accused Riyadh of arming their foes.

Souther secessionists have rejected the transition deal that put Hadi in power, saying they want northing to do with a process involving a united Yemen.

In the capital Sanaa, thousands of protesters gathered near Hadi’s residence demanding the military be shaken up to exclude Saleh’s relatives and loyalists, witnesses said.

Bombings in Yemen Kill 4 VOA: Posted Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 at 8:05 pm

Two separate bombings in Yemen have killed at least four people, including two suicide bombers.

Yemeni authorities said that, in the first incident Saturday, two suicide bombers drove a truck into a Republican Guard camp in the town of Bayda, killing one soldier and wounding five others. A local official blamed al-Qaida for the attack.

Hours later, two explosions rocked the southern port city of Mukalla, killing another soldier. Local authorities said the blasts were aimed at a central security force building.

The blasts came a week after another suicide car bombing killed 26 people outside a presidential palace in Mukalla, just hours after longtime vice president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was sworn in as the country’s new leader in the capital, Sana’a.

Yemen Post: Shiite Houthi leader, Abdulmalek al-Houthi, in Yemen called on Saturday for establishing a civil state that lives up to the people of Yemen, who took to streets demanding change.
In a speech he delivered in front of tens of thousands of his supporters, who gathered to commemorate the prophetic cradle anniversary in the northern Yemeni province of Saddah, al-Houthi called on political forces to respect the will and choice of Yemeni people.
A panel of qualified Yemeni experts should be formed to draft a new constitution, the Military Committee quickly restructures the army, and Security and Political intelligent Security should be dissolved, he demanded.
His followers have reportedly closed all routes from and to Saddah and forced the residents to use excessive fireworks, leaving at least one killed and two injured, local media reported.
“Such ceremony of this magnitude in Yemen to celebrate the prophetic birth anniversary is the fruit of the revolution, which brought down the head of the regime,” al-Houthis said.

12/21/11 SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Nearly 200 people, among them 15 foreigners, have been killed in clashes over the past few weeks between an ultraconservative Islamist group and former Shiite rebels in northern Yemen, a military official and the leader of the Islamist faction said Wednesday. In Moscow, Russia’s Foreign Minister said four Russian citizens were among those killed.

The tension between the Salafi Islamists, who are Sunni, and the former Hawthi rebels, who are Shiite, escalated just as Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed in late November a U.S.-backed proposal crafted by powerful Gulf Arab neighbors, under which he transfers power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution. He agreed to step down after a 10-month uprising against his 33-year authoritarian rule.

The Hawthis fought a bloody and costly six-year war with Saleh’s government in northern Saada province, along the Saudi border, until a cease-fire was reached early last year.

Salafi spokesman Surour al-Wadee said 71 Salafi fighters, among them an American and French, Russian, Algerian, Malaysian, Somalian, and Libyan citizens, have been killed in the clashes. A Yemeni military officials said more than 120 Hawthis have been killed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Many of the foreigners were studying in the Salafi Dar al-Hadith school in Saada, which has attracted students from around the world. It was set up more than 20 years ago as a learning center to counter Shiite Islam in the area. Its funds often flow from Yemen’s neighbor to the north, Saudi Arabia.

Salafism is a particularly hardline branch of Islam. Some Salafis follow a militant ideology similar to al-Qaida’s, but the terror network operates separately. Salafi preachers in Saada have used the pulpit to argue that the killing of Hawthi Shiites is an Islamic duty.

During Yemen’s uprising, security has unraveled and al-Qaida and other Islamist militants have tried to exploit the vacuum to gain a firmer foothold in the impoverished country. The al-Qaida branch in Yemen is one of the most active in the world.

In the months leading up to Saleh’s signing of the agreement to give up power, security forces appeared to have turned a blind eye to Salafis arming themselves and amassing in greater numbers in Saada province. The Saudi government pressures Saleh to step down as of the group of Gulf states that formulated the plan for him to go.

On Tuesday, the Hawthis and Salafis agreed to a cease-fire brokered by opposition tribesmen, politicians and religious figures. It collapsed less than 24 hours later in part of Saada. According to al-Wadee, eight Hawthis and two Salafi fighters were killed on Wednesday.

Al-Qaida fighters have not attempted a cease-fire with Hawthi Shiites. Instead, leading al-Qaida figures in Yemen have reportedly called on fighters in recent weeks to fight the Shiites.

Russia tracks its citizens who travel abroad for training in Muslim seminaries. The Russian Embassy in Yemen counted 36 Russian citizens living in Saada — students at Dar al-Hadith school for Islamic studies and their families.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russian and Yemeni authorities are working to evacuate the remaining Russian citizens from the area.

The Russian Embassy said the Russian students are at Dar al-Hadith illegally, having bypassed regulations for leaving Russia.

Russia has millions of Muslim citizens, notably in the Caucasus republics that have been plagued by insurgent violence.

Tired of widespread poverty and a government perceived as corrupt and abusive, many Muslims from the Caucasus have traveled to the Middle East and South Asia to study with radical Islamic leaders who challenge the Kremlin-backed Muslim clerics at home.

In 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on Russia’s Muslim leaders to join forces in an effort to keep young Muslims in Russia and quell recruitment by extremist groups abroad. In May, Alexander Khloponin, Medvedev’s envoy to the Caucaus region, said authorities were planning to closely monitor young people who go abroad to study Islam.

Report from the Yemen Times

Houthis partially lift Damaj blockade

Published:05-12-2011
SADAA, Dec 4 — The Houthis in Sa’ada have partially lifted their 46-day blockade on Damaj, a local has told the Yemen Times.

Around 7,000 Salafi students, including women and children of Yemeni and foreign nationalities, live in Damaj and the area recently ran out of basic food items and medicine following the weeks-long blockade, according to a media and human rights team who visited the area.

The main Houthi security checkpoint out of Damaj, known as Khaneq, began allowing food aid, supplied by the Red Cross Society, into the area on Saturday. But a Salafi student told the Yemen Times accused the Houthis of only permitting two thirds of the aid and took the third for their own.

However, Mohamed Abd Al-Sallam, a spokesperson for the Houthis in Sa’ada, denied the allegations. “It is untrue that the Houthis took one third of the Red Cross Society’s food aid or confiscated any food,” he said. “And the road is open for anyone to go in or out.”

The accusation came after a statement by the Houthis on Saturday saying they had lifted the blockade and agreed a ceasefire. However, fighting has continued on both sides.

“Nobody can get in or get out,” the Salafi student said “so how are they [Houthis] saying that they lifted the blockade?”

The governor of Sa’ada has sent a copy of the Houthis’ statement to the Salafis in Damaj, but the Salafis have not yet responded.

A delegation of the Yemeni opposition National Council, formed on August 17th to lead the youth revolution, visited Sa’ada on Saturday and took a tour of the Damaj area. They have remained in Sa’ada, but have not yet released any report on the situation there.

The delegation includes Mussed Al-Radaee, general secretary of the Nasserite party as the head of the mission and MP Sakhr Al-Wajeeh.

A similar mission of anti-regime protesters from Sana’a’s Change Square also arrived in Damaj on Friday to assess the situation from both sides, but they have not revealed their findings yet.

The violence in Sa’ada between the Shiite-Houthis and the Sunni-Salafis broke out 50 days ago after the Houthis received a leaked letter, allegedly from a Salafi cleric in Damaj, urging the commander of Yemen’s security forces to fight the Houthis. The letter was denied by the cleric though he later called for Jihad [holy war] against the Houthis.

The Houthis, who took control of Sa’ada in March of this year, have gone through six rounds of war with the Yemeni army since 2004-2010. The Salafis were not involved in the fighting until the last round in 2009.

Both sides have been exchanging accusations that the other is inciting supporters to encourage sectarian conflict in Yemen.

Day 40

YT: SANA’A, Nov 30 — Hundreds of Salafi clerics from all over the nation held a conference on Wednesday in Sana’a in response to ongoing violence between Houthis and Salafis in Damaj, in the Sa’ada governorate. A blockade has been imposed by the Houthis in the Salafi area for over forty days.

In Yemen’s conservative religious society, there is a risk that if these battles continue, a countrywide sectarian war between Salafi Sunnis and Houthi Shiites could erupt.

The conference was attended by many adherents and supporters of Salafism, including tribesmen from the Hashid Confederation, the largest tribe in north Yemen. The Hashid presence had the potential of sending a strong message to the militarily-advanced Houthis, that, in effect, they may eventually be willing to join their cohorts in fighting back in Damaj.

“They [Houthis] must suspend their bad deeds – otherwise, Yemenis will deal with them in another way,” Sheikh Murad Al-Qadasi, a Salafi cleric and the head of the conference’s preparatory committee, told the Yemen Times.

Sheikh Yahya Al-Hajoori, principal of Dar Al-Hadeeth Salafi School in Damaj, called on Saturday evening for Jihad against the Houthis after 26 Salafi students were killed in the area by Houthi snipers deployed around the school.

However a member of the Hashid tribe said: “The Houthis really practice sectarianism, even if the Salafis oppose this. The Hashid has sacrificed the lives of dozens of its people to defend against Houthi attacks, and the tribe remains well-prepared to fight. Some members have already joined the fight against the Houthis.”

Abdulmajeed Al-Raimi, a Salafi cleric, blamed the government for standing by and watching Salafis fall under attack in Sa’ada without doing anything. “It is a dangerous trend, which obliges Sunnis to unify to defend their existence.”

Aqeel Al-Maqtari, a Salafi cleric from Taiz who attended the conference in Sana’a, said that the Houthis have been using violence against the Salafi students in Sa’ada since August, when they [Houthis] killed four students in a vehicle in Sa’ada City.

He added that the Houthis have even destroyed water wells in Damaj to pressure the Salafis into departing the area.

For his part, Dr. Yahya Al-Asadi, a social leader from Hajja, explained that despite the lack of a state security presence in past months, the people of Hajja have remained peaceful and no killings have been reported.

However, on the November 6 Eid, locals were surprised by the sight of military vehicles moving from one district to another, full of youths, their ages ranging from 16 to 20, and heavily armed with hand grenades, machine guns and mortar shells.

“These vehicles attempted to take control of areas in Hajja by force and the people did not accept that Hajja’s people were killed when armed clashes broke out between the two sides,” said Al-Asadi.

“Now the district of Ahim in Hajja is in conflict between the Houthis and people of Hajja. I invite journalists to come and report the fact,” he added.

A concluding statement delivered at the conference demanded that Houthis cease assaulting citizens in their areas for reasons of religious affiliation, and to end the siege on Damaj.

It also requested that organizations, parties and national figures continue efforts to break the blockade and seek peaceful solutions.

Humanitarian situation

Sa’ada’s Damaj area has been blockaded by the Houthis for over 40 days. Efforts to lift the blockade haven’t met success. A constantly worsening humanitarian situation – consisting of severe shortages of food and medicine – has resulted.

After obtaining leave from the Houthis, Yemeni human rights activists and media teams visited the blockaded area for one hour last Friday.

Yemeni human rights activists and media teams said that the area had nearly run out of food and medicine and that some pregnant women had miscarried because they had been prevented from reaching the hospital.

“I saw shops without milk and basic foods; vegetable shops were empty, and pharmacies out of medicine,” said Mohamed Al-Ahmadi, a Yemeni journalist from the team that visited Damaj.

A health official from the area’s medical center told the media team that the blockade had caused the spread of infectious conditions, including chicken pox and diarrhea.

The lives of women and children are at risk since a woman who was on her way out of the mosque was killed by a Houthi sniper due to the high deployment of the Houthi snipers around the Salafi school, according to Al-Ahmadi.

Update 2: More from the Yemen Post:

One Salafi student was killed in clashes between the Shia Houthi Movement and the extreme Sunni Salafi movement in the northern Yemen Sa’ada province.

The escalations between both groups started when Houthis claimed that Salafis are entering weapons inside their educational institutions in the town of Dammaj, and demanded that all military posts are emptied.

As Salafis refused, a tightened siege against their religious school complex took place early this week resulting in no food or medicine entering the facility.

Fares Manna, the governor of Sa’ada, did not succeed in having a ceasefire continue for more than four hours.

Salafis are calling on the Yemeni government to help in ending the siege of their educational institution before a war outbreak takes place.

Update: Sometimes, if you wait long enough, the news comes out in English. A balanced overview from the Yemen Times, below assorted earlier Arabic links. The Dammaj Institute is the headquarters for the Dar al Hadieth network of schools, libraries and charities; there are dozens of smaller schools throughout Yemen. UN sanctioned weapons dealer Faris Manna (appointed “governor” by Ali Mohsen) is attempting to mediate.

SAA’DA, Oct 30 — Signs of a fresh Sunni-Shiite conflict in Sa’ada appeared after the latter blockaded a Sunni school in Damaj, a local told the Yemen Times on Wednesday.

The Sunni school, known as Dar Al-Hadeeth, is at the heart of attacks by Houthi rebels. The school has been under siege for eight days by the rebels, who have been engaged in six separate wars with the central government since 2004.

Dar Al-Hadeeth is run by the hard-core Salafism group and teaches around 7,000 students, including women and children, from Yemen and foreign nations.

“The Houthis are now positioning themselves around the school, blocking food supplies, and have set up their own checkpoints, searching anyone entering or leaving the area,” said the citizen, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Tensions between the opposing sides surfaced two weeks ago, after a letter written by the principal of the school, Imam Yahya Al-Hajoori, was leaked to the Houthis. In the letter, Al-Hajoori thanked Brigadier General Yahya Mohamed Abdullah Saleh, the president’s nephew and chief commander of Yemen’s security forces, as well as Saudi Arabia, for fighting Houthis in his region.

The leaked letter provoked the Houthis who launched the blockade on the school in Damaj before attempting to gain control of Al-Baraqa Mountain, which overlooks Damaj and remains under Sunni control.

“The Damaj School has made attacks against us and is attempting to take control of military positions outside of their area,” a spokesman for a Houthi leader told the Yemen Times.

“Plus, they have continued to incite us, describing us as non-believers and carrying out military training for their supporters,” the Houthi spokesman said. However, Al-Hajoori denied the veracity of the statement and said it was fabricated in order to inflame sectarian conflict in Sa’ada. Now, the area surrounding the school in Damaj is under siege and families have begun fearing the potential for war if no action is taken.

Students in doctrinally similar Salafi schools located in other governorates have begun discussing what to do to stop the Houthis blockade and prevent their military expansion, according to a Salafi student in Damaj.

“The threat is that this tension could develop into sectarian war. Already, around 69 students from Damaj were killed in clashes with the Houthi/Shiites during the fifth round of war between Yemen’s army and the Houthis in 2009,” the student explained.

Tribesmen loyal to the Salafi group in Sa’ada have already blocked the Al-Boqa’ road connecting Saudi Arabia and Yemen by way of the Sa’ada governorate. The Hashid tribe, which has sided with the opposition demanding the ouster of president Saleh has, at the same time, blocked the Sana’a-Sa’ada road. Yet more tribesmen loyal to the Salafists have attempted to block the Maran Road, which leads to the hometown of the Houthis’ leader, Abd Al-Malek Al-Houthi.

A mediation committee composed of Fares Mana’, an arms dealer who is currently the governor of Sa’ada (though not designated as such by the government), tribal leaders, and representatives of the Houthis and Salafists met on Tuesday to resolve the current situation, but no concrete results have yet been reached.

“They agreed that the Houthis must open the road, remove their new checkpoints, and that both sides must return to their old positions, but none of these points has been implemented yet,” said a student from the Salafi School.

A source close to Mana’ told the Yemen Times that “this is simply a personal disagreement between both sides” and that “they would reach an agreement soon”.

In addition to having different interpretations of Islam, the Shiite Houthis and the Sunni-Salafist Damaj school also have different political positions towards the popular uprising which erupted last February and which demands an end to Saleh’s 33-year regime.

The Houthis have joined the uprising, while the Damaj Salafi group based in Sa’ada has sided with Saleh and banned anti-regime demonstrations and protests, calling them “rebellious acts against the ruler”.

Original: Houthis tighten siege on Dammaj, Manaa mediates, a disputed checkpoint:

News Yemen

Houthis continue the siege of Incorporation and prevent the number of students and sheikhs in Sa’ada ran out to perform Hajj

Prevented Houthi group students and sheikhs ran the ancestral status of Incorporation to get out of the Incorporation of the Directorate of yellow in Saada province in order to approach the performance of pilgrimage in the Holy Mosque.
A source at the Dar Al-Hadith, which is supervised by Sheikh Yahya Alhjor told (News Yemen) said Houthi group continues to tighten the noose on sheikhs and students of Dar Al-Hadith and the sons of the Incorporation in general since the Wednesday before last and prevent their exit from the region in addition to prevent the entry of food supplies to the region , also prevented
Pilgrims who have completed preparations and procedures to perform the Hajj.
He denied the source, who requested anonymity, reported on some newspapers and news sites to resolve disputes between the parties and lifting the siege imposed by Damaj Houthi group, stressing that the siege is still ongoing.
The source pointed out that the mediation led by Faris Manna, governor of Saada and a number of security leaders still continue its efforts to reach an agreement consisting of a number of points delivered yesterday evening to Sheikh Alhjor by negotiating for them to express their opinion before you sign it, refusing to disclose its content, stressing that Sheikh Yahya Alhjor
Has not been used until now no reaction to what practicing Shi’ite provocations and practices, harassment, and he emphasizes constantly to the children of the Incorporation, students and sheikhs center on the need for restraint and patience, wisdom, and he will work with all the good things to avoid bloodshed as much as possible.
Meanwhile, a tribal source in Damaj: The mediation led by Faris Manna failed on the first Monday in raising points installed at the entrances to the Houthis Damaj, because of the refusal Houthis lifting points at the center of Incorporation students raise a point overlooking the center of Incorporation as they say .. Which was rejected by Sheikh Yahya Alhjor as the point at which demand Houthis lifting is not in the public road, a point exists since the days of founder Sheikh future Alwadei overlooking the center of Dar al-Hadith, houses and homes of students and an aging science.
In the context Falt some sources (News Yemen) said the gunmen belonged to the people of advances they set up checkpoints on the roads in the area Aleetmh Jouf, and in the Aahm pretext, Hodeidah and booked prove membership in Saada province in protest against the abuse suffered by their fellow students and sheikhs people talk in Saada, and threatened an escalation unless the time they raise the aggression.

Accusing them of communion with the sheikhs in Saudi Arabia to beat them, and al Hajoory denies, and warns of continued stepped up their harassment
Houthis surrounding the center of the Salafi Damaj
23/10/2011 NewsYemen:

Surrounding Houthi group since last Thursday Salafi Centre Incorporation, to accuse the two Baltato with Saudi Arabia to eliminate them.
The sources said that NewsYemen Houthis and for months they harassed the Ahle Hadith and prevented from the exercise of their activities, including the killing of Yusuf San’aani in the month of Ramadan during the notification to the ancient city of Saada, shopping, and took two of his companions to a place unknown.
According to a source of Ahle Hadith said they are subjected to intense harassment of the imams of mosques by Houthis who claim to tolerance, since the city of Saada and others to impose their sway in the month of April of this year.
And controlled Houthi group on one of the sites near the center of Incorporation and expelled Salafi guarding the site belonging to the Salafi Centre Incorporation without clashes, as well as to prevent them
Access to the city of Saada.
And independent sources predicted that clashes broke out between the parties, referring to the mediation led by a number of sheikhs.
The group distributed a letter on behalf of Yahya Houthi Alhjor and who denied the relationship.
According to the letter obtained by NewsYemen him to Alhjor sent to expiate the demonstrations, and second, he warned of the party, and the Third, and most importantly that Alhjor communicate with sheikhs in Saudi Arabia for Shiites and their risk spread, and the letter indicated that Alhjor sent pilgrims to put the matter to the sheikhs in Saudi Arabia and they came back and told him that there is a plan of the elders and officials in Saudi Arabia to attack Shiite Zaydi Shi’ite Shiites, and it’s fourth and final Alhjor met the people of Incorporation, urging them to repeal the document and the peace which they held with the Houthis.
Ahadjory denied the validity of the letter attributed to it, and said that he lie upon lie.

Yemen Post: A Non-Governmental Organization working in the northern province of Sa’ada announced today that it was suspending its operations after its staff had been attacked by al Houthi Shi’ite group….The organization reported today that it had been the target of al-houthi’s intimidation tactics as the (Houthi) tribe disagreed with its field work.

The MSF which so far has been mainly distributing food and medecine to the region’s most vulnerable has been accused by al-Houthi of really conducting a “Christianization” campaign.

Residents in Sa’ada have confirmed that the organization has been the victim of a hate campaign by the al-Houthi as the group tried to have the NGO shut down.

Houthis statement – Saada 23/09/2011 Tazahria mass demonstration was the morning of this day, Friday, 24 / October / 1432 e roamed the streets (Saada), attended by tens of thousands of people of the province who have flocked to it since early morning. In the march chanted the masses (you rebel you are free, America, behind the scenes) (Say to the silent or Nam, will participate in crime) (whatever is spilled or kill, any initiative would not accept) (forward ahead of the change, and God is our best advocate) (Felthna spirit of the martyr , he lived the life of the new). Presented during the demonstration a number of rhetorical words and paragraphs of poetry and Message Board.

Yemen Times
Q: But, some locals in Sa’ada told us that the Houthis do not allow anyone to air an opinion against them, for instance, describing them as Twelver Shiites.

A: First of all it is misleading to say that the Houthis are Twelver Shiites. They are not. They are Zaydis.

Are you a Houthi?

No I’m not Houthi, I’m a state-employee at Sa’ada Radio. We used to be against the Houthis. I’m Zaydi and over 99 percent of the population in Sa’ada is Zaydi, but there is no group here called Twelver Shiites.

And it is not true that the Houthis prohibit others from expressing their opinions. If this were true, they would prevent the Salafists from practicing their traditions such as Taraweeh prayer [a prayer done at night during Ramadan after the Al-Esha festival], which does not exist in the Zaydi school.

But if you went to Sa’ada today, you would find the religious traditions of both Zaydis and Salafists performed in their mosques with no problems. They are not going to bring their prayers out of the mosque and argue that our Zaydi School approves of this religious practice. And not only Salafists, but Islahis practice there as well.

There is also hard-core group of Salafists called Muqbil group. They are extremists and they have their school in Damaj, Sa’ada. They carry out their traditions in complete freedom.

Three weeks ago, a Salafi imam was murdered in Sa’ada. Does this point to sectarian conflict in the governorate?

No, I do not think so. Because even the Salafis were disappointed about this happening. The real story of the murdered imam is that he was carrying hand-grenades to bomb some buildings in the governorate. You may have heard two weeks ago of a similar incident, in which an explosion targeted the republican hospital in the city of Sa’ada. So they [the people who killed him] tried to disarm the grenades. He attempted to throw the grenades at them, so they were forced to kill him. And they are now in custody pending state trial.

Do you have any information on the armed conflict between the Houthis and Islahis in Al-Jawf governorate?

What I know is that there have been fierce armed clashes between the Houthis and the Islahis.

Do you know why these clashes are taking place?

At the beginning they were both on good terms and stood together with the revolution. But we have heard that there was a foreign intervention – frankly, from Saudi Arabia, which shares a similar religious ideology – in which the Saudis armed the Islah groups in Al-Jawf with heavy weapons to fight the Houthis and prevent their extension into other parts of the country.

This is what we heard from the locals there and we also heard that the Saudis pay any one who participates in the fighting. This armed conflict in Al-Jawf has killed many people. Because of the high casualty rate, some people have named it the seventh war.

But the nice thing now is that both sides have signed a ceasefire agreement, and a new governor was recently elected in Al-Jawf. The problem is that everything in Al-Jawf was at standstill and even salaries of public employees have been suspended for over six months, in contrast to Sa’ada where the state government is still paying salaries.

So I would like to explain that Sa’ada did not separate from the state. Yemen’s flag is still present, and the national anthem is performed on Sa’ada Radio despite its being a revolutionary radio.

The radio in Sa’ada has sided with the revolution, but it is still committed to the national constants including the national anthem and different radio programs. There has been a serious focus on revolutionary programs and projects, but our policy towards the key constants is still unchanged.

Abu Jubarah anyone? See my article, Large al Qaeda camp in North Yemen dims peace prospects, politician says dated 3/29/10 or my category Abu Jubarah.

During the Saada Wars, both the US and al Qaeda (bin Laden division) were facilitating Saleh’s forces against the Houthis and the residents of Saada. In essence, the US was supporting a state sponsored jihad, as the Saleh regime itself characterized the conflict. Kahlidabdul Nabi, who in theory is heading the current al Qaeda uprising in Abyan, fought in Saada for Saleh in the 2005 and the 2007 rounds of war. Nabi also lead the state jihaddists in the 2009 battle of Jaar. Ayman Zawaheri provided fighters for Saleh and the US provided the money.

The diversion of US counter-terror aid to Saada was documented by the US Congress. The US was aware of the redeployment of US trained CT units as revealed by Wikileaks. At the same time, the reports of al Qaeda on the same side of the battlefield since 2005 have been consistent, credible and detailed. European nations including the UK and France also provided logistical support to Saleh’s regime including surveillance photos.

The now defected General Ali Mohsen al Ahmar led the Yemeni military against the Houthis in rounds 1-5 of the Saada war (2004-2008). Ahmed Saleh, President Saleh’s son, head of the Republican Guard and the US’s primary CT liaison, commanded round 6 (2009-2010) of the Saada War, the most brutal and lethal.

In Saada War number 6, Saudi Arabia took part in the carnage, bombing residential areas in Yemen as well as refouling refugees who were fleeing the bombing. Over 300,000 residents were displaced in several governorates, international aid was blocked, doctors arrested and hospitals bombed. The internal refugees, mostly women, children and the elderly, received little support from the UN. Only a few thousands were afforded safety in refugee camps where conditions were so abysmal that malnourished infants died all too regularly amid shortages of tents, food and medicine. The rest starved in fields and caves.

The nature and scale of the war crimes against the Yemeni civilian population, based on their ethnic and religious identity, in Saada and throughout the nation, is among the most brutal slaughters of the 21st century. After an investigation, Human Rights Watch said the state’s actions likely violate international law and rise to the level of crimes against humanity. President Obama’s insistence on immunity for his friend President Saleh whitewashes US, Saudi and western complicity in these crimes.

Reuters: (Reuters) – Factional fighting in Yemen’s north entered its fifth day on Tuesday, bringing violence closer to the border with Saudi Arabia, while the United States’ top counter-terrorism official visited Sanaa.

Twenty-three people have been killed and dozens injured in the northern province of Jawf since clashes broke out on Friday between members of Yemen’s main opposition party Islah and northern Shi’ite rebels known as Houthis.

Jawf lies along Yemen’s northern border with oil giant Saudi Arabia, which fears that unrest in its poverty-stricken southern neighbor could spill over and create a major security threat.

Fighting started when Houthis refused to give up an army base they occupied after the governor of Jawf fled two months ago, an opposition source said.

Saudi Arabia launched a military offensive against the Houthis after they briefly seized Saudi territory in late 2009. Houthi rebels have fought President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government on and off since 2004.

Protests against Saleh’s 33-year rule had united Houthis and protesters, including the Sunni Muslim Islah, but rifts have begun to appear as a political stalemate drags on.

Saleh left Yemen in political limbo when he flew to Saudi Arabia to seek treatment after he was severely injured by a bomb attack in the presidential palace in early June.

Before that, as protests against his rule raged, Saleh had three times rejected a transition deal brokered by Gulf Arab states, and held on to power.

U.S. envoy John Brennan, who met Saleh in Riyadh on Sunday to urge him to accept a transition plan, was in the capital Sanaa to meet the leader of the main opposition bloc.

“We met with Brennan and there was nothing new in the American stance,” said opposition leader Abu Bakr al-Badhib.

“He told us the president intends to return soon and that the Americans are not in favor of this, but he is resolved and says his return will help to pacify matters.”

In southern Yemen, which has borne the brunt of the crisis, at least two pro-opposition gunmen were killed in clashes with forces loyal to Saleh, Al Jazeera television said.

Earlier, 11 militants were killed in military strikes in the south while clashes within the police force over delayed salary payments injured three.

Five Islamist militants were killed in air strikes on Abyan province on Tuesday, where six were killed in a battle late on Monday, local government officials said.

Sanaa: Ali Mohsen meets US, EU ambassadors; forces intercept two attacks on Acting President Hadi’s compound. Reports also disbursed protesters demanding a transition council, near Hadis compound, dozens injured. Vid, al Khaiwani arguing with Askar Zoail, Ali Mohsen’s extremist office manager who incited soldiers with sermons on jihad against the Houthis at a mosque in the fifth Saada war. Al Khaiwani was later nearly kidnapped. Later video indicates Zoali’s forces shooting into the air. See below for Mohsen’s role in Abyan fighting.

JMP: did not meet with Hadi, expect to meet within two days; seek Hadi’s formal declaration that Saleh’s reign is over, threaten to unilaterally create transitional council with protesters.

Protesters: demand transitional council immediately in mass demo, “In Sana’a, a spokesman for the youth-led protesters in the change square outside Sana’a University said, after thousands of people marched Street 60th, they had given a 24-hour deadline for the concerned political parties to form a transitional council otherwise the revolutionaries will do that.”

Taiz: still tense, sporadic clashes on the outskirts of town. The Al Qaeda district is the name of the suburb, not a AQAP hideout. Three killed Maweah and Thikra

Ibb : YP: Government forces clashed with armed tribesmen in Qaeda district, Ibb province, 30 miles off Taiz province. According to the tribesmen, the goal of the tribes is to get rid of all government forces attacking the people. “Security forces are now using this lawless time in the country to loot and attack civilians. We will not allow our people to be attacked and will ensure that they are safe from any attacks from pro govt thugs,” said a tribal fighter.

Hodiedah: roads leading in blocked by pro-Saleh thugs.

Saudi Arabia, “Yemen’s neighbor and the biggest GCC country, said after a June 6 Cabinet meeting chaired by King Abdullah that the proposal is still viable, and called on Saleh to accept it. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, will also send Yemen 3 million barrels of oil to alleviate fuel shortages, Yemen’s state news agency Saba reported yesterday.” ( SFgate)

Saada: Mass protests in favor of the end of the regime and against all plots on the rev.

UNICEF: Yemen facing humanitarian disaster.

State Department briefing; must read

AQAP: a decent analysis at Foreign Affairs of relation between tribes and AQAP and prospect in the post-rev phase.

Zinjibar: reduced to “hell” with fighting among unclear sides: < <"There is a cat-and-mouse game going on in the streets now between the army and armed men. I can't tell who's who among them any more,"... The fighting has reduced Zinjibar, once home to more than 50,000 people, to a ghost town without power or running water.>> Most residents of Zinjibar fled to Aden where many are sheltering in public buildings. The Central Security forces of Yahya are attacking the refugees as they flee.

The armed parties appear to be the national military, local tribesmen, local militants (both Saleh’s and Mohsen’s) and the defected army but I’m checking. Update: Gah!!! Armed members of the southern movement also maintaining security on some roads, and for sure they would be described by the regime as al Qaeda. If this is true, southerners carrying arms and creating their own security checkpoints outside local villages in various governorates, its new. (I deleted the areas where they are deployed or the regime will start bombing them.) It needs to be double checked. But being rebuffed after asking to coordinate security with the international community leaves few options. However as security fails, its likely the Southern Movement will reject new deployments by either Saleh’s forces or Mohsen’s forces. The only possibility is Aliwi who has a better reputation in the south than Hadi (as unlike Hadi he didnt attack civilians in the 1986 civil war, according to local lore.) And Mohsen is Mohsen.

Abyan: Local direct reports indicate military airplanes dropped two bombs today recently. Vid here of warplanes that bombed Abyan City, per local sources.

Another says the attack was on tribesmen who took up arms in the face of military assaults. “Ms. Novak – Greetings – I would like to clarify what is happening today in the province of pilgrimage in southern Yemen as a witness elders – the army is firing different weapons on the housing Almutnyen and Batalli tribes touched by the bombing respond and of these forces and drops dead from both sides.” Still no names on the militants leaders, but likely remnants of the localized jihaddist group AAIA operating under another new name. Upon asking, it seems that most discussions on southern forums regarding Zinjibar are operating on the assumption (as am I) that Khaledabul Nabi* is leading the jihaddists in Abyan but no eye witness confirmation. Ja’ar and Zinjibar are close enough. In 2009, Nabi was fighting on the side of Saleh in the battle of Ja’ar, another jihaddist proxy war.

Update, Southern Yemen: Ali Mohsen’s forces are in Abyan, see YT article Rebel soldiers engage militants, but are described below as “gunmen” so these could be the jihaddists as well. Majority of Mohsen’s soldiers are either graduates of Iman Univ or loyal to Zindani, per local buzz. The defected military issued a statement though that they were going to intervene in Abyan as military, and that may be what is triggering an armed (defensive) response by the southern movement if there is indeed an armed response. When the article below talks about forces loyal to Islah, it sounds like they mean armed militants loyal to Mohsen and Zindani. Maybe this is what Nuba meant by an invasion of Zindanis forces.

So Abyan could be a proxy war between Saleh and Mohsen with both sides using militants and military men and equipment. and the southerners who take defensive positions attacked by both. Now I really have a headache. Saada source comments, “That’s exactly whats happening with al Jawf,” and likely why the Houthis are fighting there, as a defensive measure.

Al Jawf/ Marib: Battles reported and continue over last months between Houthis and “Islahis” in conjunction with Mohsen’s forces, with back up from pro-Saleh forces according to news and local sources. Explains positioning of large amounts of troops there. Both the Mohsen forces and Saleh forces, militants and military, are fighting the Houthis in rotation. These developments bring into question both Mohsen’s alleged reformation and his commitment to the youth rev goals. Maybe he is just out to finally wipe out the Houthis and the Southerners. Clarification: There’s no troops on the al jawf/Saada border. Troops and militias of both Saleh (Republican Guards and militias) and Mohsen’s army and militias are on the border of Aljawf/Mareb and also inside both Aljawf and Mareb. There’s quite a number of troops in Saada but they are non-combative.

Yaf3press: Lapin: genocide and the destruction of cities, “Zanzibar and Jaar .. and forces loyal to the Reform Party (ed-Islah) and Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar involved in control of southern Yemen.

صحيفة يافع / خاص / 7/يونيو/2011م الثلاثاء Young newspaper / private / 7 / June 2011 Tuesday

قالت مصادر لـ”صحيفة يافع “: صول إلى محافظة أبين اللواء فيصل رجب قبل أيام على رأس قوة وصفت بتحرير زنجبار ، Sources told “young newspaper:” access to the province of Abyan, Major General Faisal Rajab days ago at the head of strength and editing described Zanzibar
وقالت المصادر :أن فيصل رجب يشتبك مع قوات من القبائل والأهالي ومسلحين من المنطقة منذ خمسة أيام . The sources said: that Faisal Rajab clash with troops from the tribes and people and gunmen from the region since the five days.

وأضاف : أن قوات فيصل رجب أستخدمت جميع الأسلحة الثقيلة والخفيفة ، و أفاد : أن فيصل رجب يقوم بقصف مدينة جعار قصفا مكثفا مما أجبر السكان النزوح من المدينة ، He added: Faisal Rajab forces used all heavy and light weapons, and said: Rajab is that Faisal shelling the town of Jaar intensive shelling, forcing the population exodus from the city,
وأفادت المصادر: أن مايجري في مدينة” زنجبار وجعار ” أعمال حربية يندى لها الجبين وهي وصمة عار في حق الجيش اليمني حيث وصفه المصادر أن فيصل رجب جاء على رأس ” مرتزقة لدك المدينتين بالأسلحة الثقيلة . According to the sources: that what is happening in the city of “Zanzibar, Jaar,” acts of war is shameful and a stain on the right of the Yemeni army, where he described the sources that Faisal Rajab came on top of “child mercenaries cities with heavy weapons.
كما أفادت المصادر : أن مسلحين موالين لحزب الإصلاح وعلي محسن الأحمر مشاركة في اللعبة التي تجري في محافظة أبين و وقال المصدر أن الأعيان ومشايخ والأهالي المدينتين قد حملوا المجتمع الدولي مسؤولية جراء مايجري من إبادة لمدينتي جعار وزنجبار ، The sources also reported: Gunmen loyal to the Reform Party and Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar participation in the game taking place in the Abyan province and the source said that the Senate and the elders, parents, the two cities have taken up the responsibility of the international community as a result of what is happening with the annihilation of the cities of Jaar and Zanzibar,
وقال المصدر :أن الأعيان من قبائل أبين يطالبون المجتمع الدولي بتكليف لجنة أمنية وتحقيق دولي لزيارة المنطقة لمعرفة الحقيقة وتقصي الحقائق ، وقال إنها لعبة بين المتصارعين السياسيين في اليمن وحملوا المجتمع الدولي مسؤولية جراء صمتهم عن جرائم الإبادة والتدمير للمدينتين والتي نزح الأهالي منها . The source said: that the objects of the tribes show asking the international community commissioned by the security committee and an international investigation to visit the area to know the truth and fact-finding, and said it is a game between the feuding politicians in Yemen and carried the international community’s responsibility due to their silence for the crimes of genocide and destruction of cities and displaced people from them.
وقال المصدر :أن المواجهات خلفت عشرات القتلى والجرحى وأضرار بالغة في الممتلكات العامة والخاصة وصفها بالإبادة والتدمير . The source said: that the clashes left scores dead and injured and damage in the public and private property and described by annihilation and destruction.
وقالت المصادر :أن اللعبة بدأت تظهر مؤشرات أن قوات موالية لعلي محسن الأحمر وحزب الإصلاح تريد السيطرة على جنوب اليمن كما هي خطة ليبيا في السيطرة على بنغازي ، The sources said: that the game began to show signs that the forces loyal to Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and the Reform Party wants to control the south of Yemen, as is the plan for control of Libya in Benghazi,

A clusterfrick indeed. Maybe I’ll write it in a more coherent summary later; just understanding is giving me a headache.

*The funny part about the unending spew of small and large lies is they can’t keep track of what they said before. One of my favorite stories involves Abdulkhaled Nabi, leader of the Abyan Aden Islamic Army. The Yemeni regime told the US in 2003 that they killed al-Nabi in a shoot-out. In 2004, Yemeni officials admitted that they let al-Nabi go after he was spotted breathing. In 2005, top Yemeni officials claimed Nabi was completely rehabilitated and living the life of a peaceful farmer. In 2006, local media reported Nabi and his band of fanatics was training a tribal paramilitary for the government to battle Shiite rebels in Sa’ada. In 2007, the newspaper (Al-Sharie) was brought up on charges of revealing state secrets, and the editor faces the death penalty. In 2008, the Yemeni government announced with great fanfare that they had captured the dangerous terrorist al-Nabi after an intensive five year manhunt. The tickers all said, “Yemen captures al-Qaeda terrorist after five year hunt.”

Nabi and his band of jihaddists was quite instrumental in the 2009 battle of Jaar in returning control to Saleh’s forces. The Minister of Defense negotiated a deal for money with Sami Dhayan and his crew.