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Arabia

Clashes with Shiite rebels in Yemen kill 42

2007-02-06

At least 42 Yemeni soldiers have been killed and 81 wounded in over a week of sporadic clashes with Shiite Muslim rebels in the north of the country, a Yemeni official has said. The official said the casualty toll had been cited in a report presented by Yemen's national security chief, Ali al-Ansi, to the country's consultative council. Yemeni government forces have clashed with rebels officials say are led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, son of Sheikh Badr el-Deen al-Houthi and brother of anti-American cleric Hussein al-Houthi who was killed in 2004. Yemen has accused the rebels of wanting to install Shiite religious rule in the country and preaching violence against the United States. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh warned the rebels after the latest bout of violence, which began late last month, to surrender their weapons or face a showdown.

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Arabia

Yemen tells Shi'ite rebels to disband or face war

2007-01-30

This just in from our ace reporter, D.J. Wu... Yemen's president on Monday warned Islamist Shi'ite militants who killed six soldiers to surrender their weapons or face a showdown with security forces. 'There is a special force ready to uproot them if they do not disband and put down their weapons as soon as possible. This operation would not take long,' President Ali Abdullah Saleh said at an army event in the capital, Sanaa. Should have a pretty good idea how to go about it, since you've had practice... 'You have been forewarned,' he added, addressing the rebels. The six soldiers were killed and 20 wounded when the rebels launched rare attacks on government forces in the northern province of Saada on Saturday. The rare attack hasn't elicited a rare response yet... Officials said Shi'ite rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and his followers were behind the attacks. Houthi is the son of Sheikh Badr el-Deen al-Houthi and the brother of hardline cleric Hussein al-Houthi who was killed in 2004. Yemen accuses the rebels led by the Houthi clerics of wanting to install Shi'ite religious rule and of preaching violence against the United States. I'm guessing the Houthi tail is being wagged by the Persian dog... Saleh accused 'some countries' he refused to name of supplying Houthi's group with weapons and financial support. Kinda like Iran, y'mean? Sunni Muslims make up most of Yemen's 19 million people, while Shi'ite Muslims account for about 15 percent of the population. In March 2006, Yemen freed more than 600 Shi'ite rebels as part of an amnesty to end two years of clashes that have killed several hundred soldiers and rebels.

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Arabia

Yemen pardons al-Houthi lieutenants

2006-05-22

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has pardoned a Muslim preacher sentenced to death and another who was jailed for backing a rebel movement and spying for Iran, a government official said on Saturday. Last year, a court ruled that Yehia Hussein al-Daylami, sentenced to death, and Mohamed Meftah wanted to overthrow the Arab country's government and supported radical Shi'ite rebels. Both were being freed under the pardon, the official said. Meftah's original jail sentence was eight years. In March, Yemen freed more than 600 supporters of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Hussein al-Houthi in an amnesty that aimed to put an end to two years of clashes, which have killed several hundred soldiers and rebels. After Houthi was killed in 2004, the government blamed his father, Sheikh Badr el-Deen al-Houthi, for a new round of clashes which erupted in 2005. Later, the elder Houthi agreed to stop fighting.

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Arabia

Yemen pardons convicted pro-rebel Muslim clerics

2006-05-21

SANAA, May 20 (Reuters) - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has pardoned a Muslim preacher sentenced to death and another who was jailed for backing a rebel movement and spying for Iran, a government official said on Saturday. Last year, a court ruled that Yehia Hussein al-Daylami, sentenced to death, and Mohamed Meftah wanted to overthrow the Arab country's government and supported radical Shi'ite rebels. Both were being freed under the pardon, the official said. Meftah's original jail sentence was eight years. In March, Yemen freed more than 600 supporters of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Hussein al-Houthi in an amnesty that aimed to put an end to two years of clashes, which have killed several hundred soldiers and rebels. After Houthi was killed in 2004, the government blamed his father, Sheikh Badr el-Deen al-Houthi, for a new round of clashes which erupted in 2005. Later, the elder Houthi agreed to stop fighting. The rebels lie when they say that they are not linked to al Qaeda. Sunni Muslims make up a majority of Yemen's 19 million population, while Shi'ites compose about 15 percent.

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Arabia

Al-Houthi hard boyz disrupt trial

2005-08-15

Yemen began the trial on Monday of 34 supporters of a slain Shi'ite cleric but the judge quickly adjourned the session after the unruly defendants chanted slogans against the government and its ally the United States. "Death to America, Death to Israel," the defendants shouted in unison before loudly reciting the Koran, drowning out all court proceedings. "We reject this trial as the government that is prosecuting us is our enemy." Before the ruckus erupted, the prosecutor had charged the Yemenis, six of whom are being tried in absentia, with belonging to a subversive armed group. The defendants have confessed to being loyalists of slain rebel Shi'ite cleric Hussein al-Houthi who launched an insurgency against the state last year. The group -- which includes a woman, a 15-year-old and an army officer -- was also charged with launching grenade attacks in the capital Sanaa and of planning to assassinate politicians and army officers. The trial was adjourned a week to Aug. 22. Yemen says the Houthi rebel group wants to install Shi'ite clerical rule and preaches violence against the United States and Israel. The group is not linked to al Qaeda. Houthi was killed last year along with 200 rebels in battles with state troops. The government blamed his father, Sheikh Badr el-Deen al-Houthi, for a new round of fighting that erupted in March and in which 170 rebels and security forces were killed. The elder Houthi has since accepted an amnesty and agreed to stop fighting. But the government has arrested scores of loyalists after a spate of grenade attacks in Sanaa this year.

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