Armies of Liberation

The status of the other six has been confirmed as “alive” by the state media but their where abouts are unclear.

Earth Times

Sana’a, Yemen – Yemeni kidnappers shot dead three foreign female aid workers on Monday, three days after nine foreigners, including seven Germans, were abducted in north-western Yemen, provincial officials said. They said two German girls out of the group were found alive after police found the bodies of two German nurses and a South Korean female teacher in the district of Akwan of the of Wadi Nushur area east of Saada. (Read on …)

OK slightly more coherent:

There are conflicting reports coming out of Yemen on the status of nine foreign hostages kidnapped days earlier in Sa’ada, Yemen. One report says three hostages were killed, most say seven were murdered- shot, not beheaded, and two children were left alive. Another very new report from Yemen says six have been recovered alive.

Looking to the question of who murdered them, the least likely group is “tribesmen” who have kidnapped nearly 200 this decade. All those kidnappings were announced at once and all hostages were released unharmed after negotiations with the government. The next least likely is the Shiite rebel group, the Houthis. In four years of war, the rebels have mingled with civilians but never targeted them, and they never engaged in any kidnappings. A more possible culprit is the Yemeni Political Security Organization which has previously, it is said, created terror attacks against western tourists in order to gain counter terror funding for the regime. The most likely actor is Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has claimed credit for all the prior lethal attacks on tourists. Although the Yemeni government has taken great pains to pin the kidnappings and now the murders on the Shiite rebels, it doesn’t jive with history. The victims were associated with a Baptist medical team and were found in an area where a Baptist doctor was killed by al Qaeda in 2002. They were taken from a zone well controlled by the Political Security that would inhibit access by the rebels, but allow it by terrorists. (The Yemeni government has engaged the services of al Qaeda linked terrorists as mercenaries against the Shiite rebels in the Sa’ada governorate.)

Whoever perpetrated this crime, its an incredible act of brutality, considering they chose to take and not leave the kids to start with, and the victims confirmed dead are the three women- two German nurses and a South Korean nanny. Where are the three kids?

Original post, links, updates, below the fold as well as Abdel Malik al Houthi’s statement yesterday denying the complicity of his fighters in the kidnapping and accusing the government of treachery. (Read on …)

We condemn and denounce the kidnapping of a group of hospital staff
الجمهوري في مدينة صعدة، وخاصة وأن من ضمنهم أطفال وعائلة، Republican in the city of Saada, in particular, and including children and families,
وندين كذلك كل عمليات الاختطاف، كما ندين أي عقاب ينزل We also condemn all the acts of kidnapping, and we condemn any punishment inflicted
بالأبرياء، سواء نظام الرهائن الذي تعتمده السلطة الدكتاتورية The innocent, whether the system adopted by the hostage-dictatorship
في بلادنا، أو الكيد السياسي وممارسة الضغوط وبعث الرسائل عن In our country, and harassment of political, lobbying and sent messages
طريق الاختطاف لأشخاص أبرياء، فديننا وملتنا الإسلامية تحرم By kidnapping innocent people, and Vdinina Mmeltna Islamic denied
ذلك كما في قوله تعالى (أم لم ينبأ بما في صحف موسى، وإبراهيم As in the aayah (or not in the newspapers, including my Musa, Ibrahim
الذي وفى،ألا تزر وازرة وزر أخرى) النجم، In which, the bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another) star,

، كما أن شيمنا وأخلاقنا التي نعتز بها لا تتناسب والأعمال الدنيئة، و , And Cimena and the ethics we cherish are not commensurate with the despicable acts, and
والأفعال الذميمة، وليس في قاموسنا السياسي، ولا منهجنا الكفاحي،ولا حتى في The reprehensible acts, not political in our dictionary, and our approach Ulkipahi, not even in the
تاريخنا الطويل، أي مبدأ ولا أي جملة تسمح لنا بتبني مبدأ Long history, any principle or any other allow us to adopt the principle of
“الغاية تبرر الوسيلة” الذي يعتبره خصومنا عين السياسة وروح الذكاء، وعليه “The end justifies the means”, which was appointed as our adversaries, politics and the spirit of intelligence and, therefore, (Read on …)

They say it occured next the the headquarters of the Political Security in Sa’ada. However like every other group in Yemen, when news hit the western media, they are unable to put out a statement in English.

Ergo, yet more bad google translation:

Houthi deny that any of the sons of Saada relationship is accused of the kidnapping of German. Power is the power (the government) bears full responsibility for their fate.

The area where it was said that they had kidnapped them (Graz) is next to the Political Security in the heart of the city of Saada.

We emphasize that the charge for us is null and false accusation and slander is a matter of political vindictiveness, which is evidence of the bankruptcy (of the regime).

الحوثي ينفي ان يكون لابناء صعدة اي علاقة بخطف الالمان ويتهم السلطة لسلطة هي من تتحمل المسؤولية الكاملة عن مصيرهم حيث وان المنطقة التي قيل أنهم اختطفوا منها ( غراز ) هي بجوار الأمن السياسي في قلب مدينة صعده . ونؤكد أن اتهام السلطة لنا هو اتهام باطل وزور وبهتان وهو من باب الكيد السياسي، وهو دليل على إفلاسها وتخبطها ولن يكون في صالحها كما تظن وتسعى من وراء ذلك بل ستفتح باب الشر على أبناء اليمن يدخل منه من يحملون إ

Of course the Reuters report is by Mohammed Saddam, President Saleh’s personal translator, and the report that the rebels kidnapped them came from the military.

The Saada War has raged since 2004- the rebels have never kidnapped anyone or targeted civilians in that time (unlike the Yemeni government which bombed the hell out of quite a few cities and kidnapped hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians including children.)

Tribal kidnapping is common in Yemen, usually the demand is the release of relatives held as hostages by the government. And normally when tribesmen kidnap foreigners, they call it in, the hostages call home, everybody drinks tea and waits. No one gets hurt, and sooner or later, the tribal relatives are freed and so are the western hostages.

But this is the first case in years where the kidnappers have not immediately identified themselves and their demands. I’m starting to get worried they are going to wind up to be with al Wahishi (Al Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula ):

Reuters Earlier on Sunday a government source said nine foreigners, including seven Germans, were kidnapped in the Saada area of north Yemen, days after 24 medical workers were taken hostage, then released within a day.

The source said one of the Germans was a doctor at a local hospital which the other Germans, including his three children, were visiting. The defense ministry said in its online newspaper “September 26″ that Saada rebels carried out the kidnapping.

The Briton is an engineer and the South Korean a female school teacher working with an aid agency. A source among the rebels of Saada’s Houthi clan, members of a Shi’ite sect, denied that they did the kidnapping.

I don’t know who has them. The Houthi rebels seem unlikely susupects. But it is a deviation in the pattern of tribal kidnappings that have occurred since 2000.

A day after the release the 24 doctors and family members kidnapped in Amran (on their was to Sa’ada), a German expert and his family and friends were kidnapped near Sa’ada. The first incident was prompted by demands to release an imprisoned relative. This is likely the same. Before that was the Dutch couple. None of the kidnapping are by al Qaeda and money is not the object, and the hostages never get sold to al Qaeda. The absence of a functional judiciary prompts the tribesmen to these measures to get relatives released- relatives often held hostage for the actions of others.

Sana’a, Yemen – Seven Germans and two Britons have gone missing in the restive north-western Yemeni province of Saada and are feared kidnapped, security sources said on Saturday. (Read on …)

A hostage might be a better term, trying to apply pressure to his father. At least he’s an adult. Sometimes they take kids 12 years old.

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 31/006/2009 05 May 2009 UA 119/09 Incommunicado detention/Fear of torture or other ill treatment/ Possible prisoners of conscience

YEMEN Qassim ‘Askar Jubran (m), retired officer and former Yemeni ambassador

Ahmad Muhammad Ba Mu’allam (m)

Fadi Ba’oom (m)

(Read on …)

They could have used the 1/4 mil for development projects and got a better result. The Star

SANaA, Yemen – A Dutch couple held for two weeks by armed Yemeni tribesmen was freed today, and a tribal leader said Yemen’s government paid more than a quarter-million dollars in ransom.

The government denied paying the money or meeting any demands and said it was searching for the kidnappers among the Serag tribe in a mountainous region east of the capital.

Armed tribesmen seized the couple from their car in the capital, Sanaa, on March 31 and took them to a mountainous area about 70 kilometres to the east…After being freed, Heleen Janszen and her husband, Jan Hoogendoorn, were taken to the Dutch ambassador’s home in the capital. There they told reporters they did not feel that their lives were threatened.

The lack of judicial processes leads tribes to take matters in their own hands. The Dutch are longtime donors to Yemen. They were kidnapped driving in the capital.

Sana’a, Yemen – Yemeni tribesmen holding a Dutch couple hostage said on Wednesday they would release them if two provincial police chiefs are put on trial over a shootout last year in which four fellow clansmen were hurt, a municipal official said.

Jamil Shuraih, the secretary-general of the Bani-Dhabian district, where the Dutch hostages are being held, said the abductors also demanded financial compensation for injuries suffered by their relatives during the gunfight. (Read on …)

In Yemen, appointing Sheiks to Parliament and local councils (and have no doubt they were appointed not elected) has had the result of tribalizing the government, rather than impacting tribal norms. al Sahwa

Sahwa Net – There are as many private prisons as literacy schools in Hodaida province , according to Alsahwa Newspaper correspondent Abdul-Hafeedh al-Hattami who managed to visit a number of these private prisons.

Al-Hattami said in a prolonged report that powerful sheikhs (chiefs of tribes), sons of lawmakers and local councils members imprison and torture people in Hodaida, the poorest governorate in Yemen and impose taxes on them .

” Five years ago , Badr Zohar from Al-Zohra district , Hodaida, was imprisoned in a jail which is called al-Mitiana in night to be extradited to his dad in day as a corpse” said al-Hattami indicating to the absence of judiciary or security or any public services in these remote areas .

Tribal chiefs who a majority of them are members of the ruling party , parliament or local councils practice repressions, tortures and all kinds of violations against their subjects, and loot their lands and prosperities, according to the report.

They have no heart. None. A 92 year old man, think about that.

HOOD online-Translation: Radhia Khairan-Editor: Jane Novak

Yemeni Military Police have detained a 92 year old as a hostage and are refusing to inform his family of his location.

The police and other security forces in Yemen use the tactic of hostage taking to exert pressure on relatives. In this case, the Military Police incarcerated 92 year old Ali Ali Ahmed Shubaih in a bid to pressure his son to turn himself in to the police. His son is wanted in connection with an alleged land dispute.

Mr. Shubaih was arrested on February 3 although he had committed no crime. He was held on remand in Area Number Five at the Security Center in Sana’a. Mr. Shubaih is infirm, suffers from dementia and multiple ailments related to his age. Mr. Shubaih’s relatives filed a complaint with HOOD over the illegal and unconstitutional detention.

One of HOOD’s lawyers visited the detention center Saturday and found that the elderly gentleman was both blind and nearly unconscious. Mr. Shubaih was distraught, infirm and did not know where he was. He was transferred to hospital after HOOD’s visit and later returned to the jail.

Mr. Shbaih’s family reports today that security officials said Mr. Shubaih was transferred to another facility and refused to disclose his location. The family is extremely concerned for his well being.

HOOD sent a complaint to the General Prosecution maintaining that Mr. Shubaih’s detention is against law. HOOD seeks an investigation of the incident, the immediate release Mr. Shubaih and the prosecution of those responsible for this egregious act.

This was by no means the first incident of its type. In a similar case, 82 year old Sheikh Isshaq was detained as a hostage for two months in the Political Security’s center.

Editor: Jane Novak

Judge al Hittar is the Minister of Endowments in Yemen. He supposedly rose through the security ranks to become a judge and later began the religious dialog program in 2002, which in and of itself is a good idea. Judge al Hittar is a bit biased against Hashimites (shocker!) and thats why there was never any dialog with the Houthi rebels. In the dialog program with imprisoned al Qaeda operatives, al Hittar only discussed the non-acceptability of attacks within Yemen and going to Iraq for jihad was not actively discouraged. The program itself became an expedited release program, a charade of reform, and was discontinued in 2005. This is the guy who will be in charge of “rehabilitating” the Gitmo detainees. (In the 2006 escape, the 23 al Qaeda prisoners tunneled- with their spoons- to the ladies bathroom in a mosque where al Hittar preaches.)

The existance of a private prison is sad for a ministry that is supposed to be overseeing all things religious. Shame shame. However, private prisons are common. Powerful people have the authority to imrpison citizens without recourse, and Kudos to HOOD for taking a stand when a preacher was randomly thrown into this jail.

HOOD revealed a secret private prison inside the Endowment Minister facility after receiving a complaint from an ordinary person and then a team from HOOD lawyers went to follow up and pictured the prison.

Maher Mohammed Ismail Hebah, an orator and Immam of al-Ansar mosque, was apprehended yesterday “without knowing exactly his charges”, he said to HOOD lawyer Abdul-Rahman Barman.

News has come up before about private prison in the ministry, but was uncertain until it was realistically disclosed today, said Barman. “It is ironic that as you enter the building, ‘Smile, you are at the Endowment Ministry’ phrase caught an eye,” said Barman.

This prison is considered illegal because the ministry is not entitled to arrest anyone. “It is a crime to apprehend anyone without a judicial writ,” said Khaled al-Anesi, the executive Director of HOOD.

On other hand, the ministry imprisoned Hibah due to his apposing speech in his mosque aginst the ministry and the government, said Mohammed al-Hajj, the secretary of the Minister. He confirmed that there is no prison but detention for the problems that happen in the ministry. Al-Hajj said that the ministry has the right to arrest whoever create unrest. He added that the matter is simple, Hibah should bring a guarantor to get him released. Hibah is reported that he signed a statement that he committed to stopping talking in such manner.

HOOD sent a letter to the General Prosecution to visit the detention scene to close it and release Hibah. The team, who went to visit the place, is the lawyers: Mohammed al-Aroosi, Taha Farhan, Ahmed Arman and Abdul-Rahman Barman

SANAA, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Yemeni tribesmen have kidnapped a South African woman and her two sons, demanding that authorities release a group of prisoners, a local government official said on Friday.

The three tourists were kidnapped in the province of Abyan, the official said. The prisoners whose release the abductors were demanding were relatives of the tribesmen, he added.

Also Germans released
(Read on …)

The three German hostages released ’ Yemeni mediators affirm
YemenOnline-December 19,2008- Tribesmen have released their three German hostages after the Yemeni government agreed to meet some of their conditions, including paying a ransom and releasing some tribesmen from prison, mediators said Friday. The Germans were due to arrive by late afternoon in the capital city of San’a, said Ahmed Ubad Sherif, one of the leading mediators from the Khawlan tribe.Sherif said the Germans were being cared for by Sheik Abdel Qawi Ubad, the deputy governor of the Al-Dhala province in southern Yemen. The deputy governor is also a senior tribal member.A second tribal official, who was also mediating, said the kidnappers released the hostages after the government agreed to their conditions to release some tribesmen in Yemeni prisons.The mediator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said a ransom of 20 million Riyals ($100,000) was paid by the Yemeni government.

Yemen’s law is based on Sharia and tribal norms. The government often kidnaps people and holds them hostage as a way to pressure family members. In other cases, state hostage taking is simply retribution by a powerful person. Considering the judicial system is no remedy, tribesmen regularly resort to kidnapping foreigners in order to get their relatives released. Why foreigners? Because no one cares when they kidnap Yemenis. Depending on the tribal identity of the kidnappers, the state sanction can range from financial rewards to prison time.The hostages are usually released without harm. The only exception was when jihaddists kidnapped foreigners in 1998. That ended with several fatalities. The tribesmen on the other hand have never been known to hurt the hostages and usually are very hospitable.

SAN`A, Yemen (AP) — A security official and tribal leader say tribesmen have kidnapped three Germans in southern Yemen and are holding them hostage, demanding the government release imprisoned clan members.

The Yemeni official says a German woman working for a non-governmental organization in Yemen and her visiting mother and father were abducted early Monday by Bani Thabyan tribesmen of Dhamar province 65 miles south of the capital, San`a.

A clan leader from the same area says the tribesmen are demanding the release of relatives held by the government.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk about the incident. The clan leader asked not to be identified fearing he would be accused of being linked to the abduction.

This is a good article from al-Hayat except that it lumps together the terrorist attacks on tourists in Egypt and Saudi Arabia with the recent tourist kidnappings in Yemen, which were wholely unrelated to terrorism and were, for the most part, a bid to force the regime to release official hostages, in one case a 12 year old.

The Medina Incident, A New Kind of Terror
Daoud Shirian Al-Hayat – 28/02/07//

Last Sunday, a number of European expatriates (17 Belgians and 9 French) among which were women and children, were on a touristic trip to the Madain Saleh north of the holy city of Medina, an area attracting tourists from Saudi Arabia and abroad.

This particular expedition, however, was reminiscent of similar incidents involving foreign tourists that took place in Yemen and Egypt since the French convoy was surrounded and attacked by masked gunmen, killing two and seriously injuring two others who quickly succumbed to their wounds and died in the hospital.

The heinous attack broke the silence of terrorism in Saudi Arabia that had been stopped since Last August, and was unexpected in both location and method of execution. The attack was executed in a desert area and targeted. It was carried out with conventional weapons, making it appear as though its perpetrators wanted to send a message that terrorism will target the tourists in the coming stage, and confirms the fact that a number of hardliners are principally opposed to foreign tourism in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Moreover, the attack could disrupt efforts to promote domestic tourism among foreigners and intimidate the western expatriate society in Saudi Arabia and restrict movement of its members and their visits to areas beyond the city limits.

It would not be wise to attempt to discuss the possible affiliation of the perpetrators of this terrorist act before security authorities work out the details of what exactly happened, since rushing to conclusions could stand in the way of the correct interpretation of the attack.

While it is true that al-Qaeda have carried out operations against tourists in a number of Arab countries, the Mesada incident was the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and was executed in a way that indicates a lack of organizational abilities, as could be seen from the fact that there were no plans for the tourists convoy to remain in the scene of the attack at the end of the trip. It had split into two groups on the way back, with one heading along the Qasim area highway, while the other took the Medina road to perform the ‘lesser pilgrimage’, Umrah.

Therefore, the incident deserves a fresh look at the re-emergence of terrorism in Saudi Arabia, since it carries with it new indications and points to a need that our religious discourse be reviewed with respect to terrorism, its legitimacy and our relationship with foreign expatriates residing in our country, since it is quite possible that the perpetrators of this criminal act were victims of a religious edict permitting the killing of tourists rather than being connected to a terrorist organization.

Surely, calls by the mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abul Aziz Al Sheikh, to Saudi citizens to condemn the attack constituted a significant and timely action. The mufti’s call, however, should have also included religious clerics and preachers, and should have acknowledged the fact that those involved in Islamic and ‘da’wa’ work in confronting the emergence of terrorism are still unsatisfactory.

Many observers believe that writers, intellectuals and the public are the most outspoken opponents of terrorism, while the voices of preachers and religious students, mosque preachers and religious councilors remain muffled, and sometimes, even nonexistent, despite their importance and influences.

Terrorism has been cloaking itself behind religion and using religion as a pretext to kill innocent people. Therefore, confronting this phenomenon should start at the mosques and their platforms. Otherwise, the intellectual battle with terrorism will never meet its objectives, so long as those involved in religious work perceive terrorism as a political issue with which they have little relation.

SANA’A, Sept. 18(Saba)- Tribal sources in Shabwa said that the four French tourists who were kidnapped last Monday in Shabwa, 480 east of the capital Sana’a, will be released in the coming hours.

“The kidnappers, five men of Al Abdullah bin Hada tribe, agreed yesterday to release the captives after the security authorities agreed to move
their relative in Abyan prison to Sana’a to fairly try them after elections,” said Shalal Mohammad AbdulSalam, one of the Al Abdullah bin Hada leaders.

The kidnappers demanded to release their relatives held in Abyan Prison.

Abdu Alsalam further said that the commander of the north-west area, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar supervised the agreement, confirming that the French tourists
are in good conditions complains.

He identified the kidnappers as Salim Shobait al-Aswad, Rajeh Mohammad Ahmad Hadi, Haitham Mohammad Ahmad Hadi, Mohammad Salim Abdul-Salam Abdullah
and Ali Salam Naser al-Aswad.

From the Peninsula Online:

SANAA • Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has personally joined efforts to secure the safe release of four French hostages a week after they were kidnapped by tribesmen, a mediator said yesterday.

“The demands of the kidnappers will not be looked at now, but there has been some engagement by President Saleh in person to solve their problem,” the mediator said.

He specified that “this engagement has been communicated to notables of the tribe that kidnapped” the tourists.

The four, whose identities have not been revealed, were abducted along with their Yemeni guide seven days ago in Ataq, the main town in lawless Shabwa province, and taken to a mountain stronghold 60km away, tribal sources said.

On Thursday, a tribal source close to the kidnappers said they were demanding guarantees in the form of the handover of four children of local officials and the director of the detention centre where fellow tribesmen are being held.

“They have refused to discuss any other solution,” the source said.

According to one notable involved in the negotiations, the kidnappers had agreed to the exchange.

“But the head of the detention centre refused at the last minute to hand over one of his sons to the tribe of the kidnappers, who in turn refused to free the French hostages in the belief that the trade was neither serious nor credible.”

On Saturday, Interior Minister Rashad Al Alimi told a news conference that French President Jacques Chirac had asked the Yemeni authorities not to resort to force in order to free the four abducted tourists.

In Yemen, young children are often kidnapped by uniformed security officials or “arrested” and held without charges for extended periods as retribution against adult family members, punishment for religous affiliation, and as a means of inimidation to human rights or democracy advocates.

al Shoura (al-Khaiwani’s paper) issue 510 jun 22 2005 page 11 (translation)

arrested and hostages in the regime prisons

abdul karim alwazeer has been in Taiz central prison for two years
without being charged or sentenced. abdulkarim is mentally ill

torturing houssain almoayad in sadda prison

children in sadda prison

1-aref mosa alqusi 9 years wounded

2- yahya abdulla alqalibi 11 years wounded in his head severly
some parts of his brain went out by heavy machine gun

3- mohammed ahmed almokhtar 10 years wounded

4- ahmed abdul rahman al asri 11 years wounded by many bullets

5- bader aldeen abdula moslih 12 years very ill, nervous system and
skin damage as a result of using chlorine gas by the army in the first war last year

6- adel mohammed al saifi 12 years

7- izzalddin alhouthi 12 years

8- hussain mohammed al houthi torture and beating in his feet
until losing consciousness for long time . this happend a day ago

9-abdul rahman alqasimi 25 years very severe and dagerious wounds

10- abed alfaidi 20 years his leg was cut

another paper also reported on children in prison

AI: PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 31/010/2005
UA 173/05 Fear for safety/ Incommunicado detention/ Medical concern 23 June 2005

YEMEN Ibrahim al-Saiani (m), aged 14

Amnesty International is concerned at reports that 14 year-old Ibrahim al-Saiani has been held in incommunicado detention since May and maybe at risk of torture and ill-treatment. He reportedly has injuries which require medical treatment.

Ibrahim al-Saiani was reportedly arrested on 8 May after the security forces stormed his family home in the capital Sana’a. He is believed to be held in the Political Security (al- Amn al- Seyasi) prison in Sana’a and may be a prisoner of conscience, held solely for being part of the Zaidi community, whose other members have recently clashed with the authorities.

Though he was reportedly not directly involved, Ibrahim al Saiani was reportedly injured by shrapnel during the clashes in Sa’da, north of Yemen, between government forces and followers of Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi, a cleric from the Zaidi community. His right arm is said to have been amputated, a piece of shrapnel is lodged in his skull, and he has an injury to his right leg. He is said to be completely dependant on his family to carry out daily activities.

A number of non-governmental organizations and his family are reported to have urged the President of Yemen, ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh to intervene in his case.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Tension between the government and cleric Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi, from the Zaidi community, has been growing since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Hundreds of his followers have been detained every week for shouting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans after Friday prayers. The recent clashes began after the government asked Badr al-Din al-Huthi to hand himself to the security forces, and he refused.

The exact number of people killed or detained by the security forces since last year is not known. On 3 July 2004 the Minister of Interior reportedly told parliament that 118 people had been killed. Other sources have reported that the number of dead, among them women and children, could be as high as 500. Most of the killings are said to have resulted from the security forces’ use of heavy weaponry, including helicopter gun ships. A helicopter gunship is reported to have attacked civilian targets, killing a number of people. Amnesty International fears that many or most of those killed may have died as a result of extrajudicial executions, or use of excessive force by the security forces.

Mass arrests are reported to have been carried out by security forces in Sa’da and other parts of the country particularly Sana’a. Those targeted for arrest included suspected followers of Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi as well as religious persons who expressed their opposition to the continuing clashes in Sa’da. Some are said to have been released after short term detention, but those who continue to be held are reported to be detained incommunicado and may be at risk of torture. (see UA 219/04, MDE 31/002/2004, 9 July 2004)

Contacts Yemeni Officials: (Read on …)