More fighting, air strikes in Yemen, civilian death toll exceeds 550

Fri, Apr 24 18:42 PM EDT image 1 of 3 By Mohammed Mukhashaf ADEN (Reuters) - Fighting between Yemen's warring factions raged in southern and central parts of the country and air strikes hit Houthi militia forces in Aden on Friday, but there were no fresh moves toward dialogue. Saudi Arabia says it is winding down its month-old bombing operation against the Iran-allied Houthis and forces loyal to Yemen's former president. But Riyadh pounded targets with at least 20 airstrikes across Yemen on Thursday and 10 more on Friday. The civilian death toll from the fighting and airstrikes since the bombing started on March 26 has reached an estimated 551 people, the United Nations said on Friday. Its children's agency UNICEF said at least 115 children were among the dead. Washington and other Western countries backing the Saudi-led aerial campaign have grown increasingly worried about the humanitarian crisis on the ground and also about the risk of Sunni Muslim jihadist groups taking advantage of the chaos. Islamic State, which has had little presence in Yemen, released late on Thursday a video it said showed members of the group in the country conducting military exercises and pledging to attack the Houthis, who are from the Zaydi Shi'ite sect. Saudi Arabia has called a meeting with major U.N. aid agencies and others to discuss improving aid deliveries to Yemen, which have been hindered by the naval blockade, Saudi officials and U.N. sources said. Violent clashes continued between the Houthis and local militias near the Khor Maksar district of Aden on Friday, residents said, as well as in Taiz and al-Dhala. Heavy fighting in Marib province east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed 15 people, tribal sources there said, as the Houthi militia and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh tried to advance into the rugged Sirwah district. AIR STRIKES Renewed airstrikes, days after Riyadh announced the end of its main bombing campaign, hit the 35th Brigade in Taiz, a Yemen army unit loyal to Saleh whose troops have clashed this week with militiamen supporting President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Four weeks of air raids have had limited impact on the lightly armed and mobile Houthi guerrilla fighters, but have significantly degraded army units loyal to Saleh, Western diplomats say. Splitting the alliance between the Houthis and Saleh is seen as pivotal to any chance of success for the Saudi-led coalition in its goal of pushing the militia back towards its northern heartland, resuming peace talks and restoring Hadi to Sanaa. Several army units have announced in recent days that they were pledging their loyalty to Hadi after fighting alongside Saleh or sitting on the sidelines. But those switches do not yet appear to have swung the balance of fighting on the ground. Separately, a spokesman for Defence Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi rejected on Friday as untrue local media reports that the Houthis had released him after weeks of detention. (Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Mohammed Ghobari in Cairo. Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Clashes hit Yemen capital again as Houthis pursue political gains

7 shocking facts about Saudi Arabia under ‘modernizing’ reign of King Abdullah Published time: January 26, 2015 07:47 Edited time: January 26, 2015 13:54 Get short URL Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud (Reuters/Zainal Abd Halim ZH/DL) Al-Qaeda, Human rights, Law, Modernization, Opposition, Politics, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism Taken aback by the fulsome praise the recently deceased King Abdullah has garnered from world leaders, RT has decided to assess whether his record stands up to scrutiny. READ MORE: Saudi King Abdullah dead – state TV The majority of eulogies went beyond the requirements of diplomatic etiquette, while some epithets used by Western politicians made people believe they had stepped through the looking glass. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the monarch, who died at 90, “strengthened understanding between faiths,” while IMF chief Christine Lagarde called him “a strong advocate of women,” albeit a “discreet” one. And almost all political grandees seemed to agree that the scion of the House of Saud, was – in the words of Tony Blair – “a skillful modernizer,” who “led his country into the future.” READ MORE: #JeSuisAbdullah? Critics slam glowing Western eulogies for ‘reformer’ Saudi king One is invited to do a reality check and examine how far the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques really brought his country into the 21st century. 1. No elections, no parties, no parliament, no dissent Continuing its consistent decades-long record, Saudi Arabia received the lowest possible marks for civil and political freedoms in the annual Freedom House rankings in 2014. The countries placed alongside it were North Korea, Turkmenistan, and smattering of the most brutal African dictatorships. The regime’s disregard for any accountability to its people is brazen. There are no national elections, no parties, and no parliament – only a symbolic advisory chamber, known as Majlis al-Shura. Criticism is strictly forbidden: only last year, prominent opposition activist Abd al-Kareem al-Khoder joined hundreds of the country’s political prisoners, when he was sentenced to eight years for demanding the changeover to a constitutional monarchy. Just days before King Abdullah’s death, blogger Raif Badawi was given the first 50 of his 1,000 lashes – for calling for free speech on his blog. King Abdullah introduced municipal elections upon his official ascension to the throne – as a largely symbolic valve mechanism. At the same time, high-profile petitions demanding greater reform a decade ago landed their authors in prison. The country's sizable and restive Shia minority in the east - which led a series of public protests from 2011 onwards - is also systematically starved of political representation, somewhat inevitably, in a country led by a single Sunni family. 2. Equality: Jobs for the Saud boys – all 7,000 of them The grip of the House of Saud on the country’s levers of power and purse strings would be the envy of any medieval court. More than 7,000 princes bearing that family name are alive – with some experts speculating that the real number of titled family members approaches 30,000. Every single one has to be allocated a job commensurate with his lineage – creating hundreds of sinecures – while conversely, all talented candidates are shut out from key jobs if they do not bear the correct surname. Saudi Princess Lulwa Khaled Al-Saud (L) (Reuters/Fahad Shadeed) 3. Power transfer: Half Brezhnev-era USSR, half Game of Thrones Ironically, with such a large pool of descendants to choose from, the House of Saud is crippled by particularly outdated succession laws. Instead of primogeniture – where the title is inherited by the first-born son of the ruler – Saudi Arabia uses agnatic seniority, or the passing of power across to one’s brothers. This means that the 90-year-old Abdullah has been succeeded by 79-year-old half-brother Salman, while Crown Prince Muqrin turns 70 this year. Saudi King Salman (Reuters/Yuya Shino) Underneath the geriatric cadre of leaders, there exists a viper’s nest of intrigue, as the exponentially bigger younger generation plans to stake its claim on the throne, with factions aplenty split among the different branches of the sprawling family. It is not obvious how such a system guarantees the increasing prosperity and stability of a 21st-century state, and King Abdullah did little to reform its basic tenets. 4. Law: Scimitars and whips It may have become almost an online cliché to compare the legal systems of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic State, but the links between the two are fundamental. Both use the same ultra-conservative Hanbali school of jurisprudence, and many of the IS “judges” are Saudis, due to their familiarity with this concept of justice. Among the punishments distributed is anything from hands and feet being chopped off for theft, lashes for adultery and other “social” misdemeanors, to beheading, which can be handed down for crimes as varied as sedition, carjacking, sorcery and drug smuggling. Eighty-seven people are thought to have been beheaded in 2014, which is in line with the national average over the past five years, despite ever-growing external pressure on Saudi Arabia. Only this month, a video emerged online, showing an executioner repeatedly hacking away at the neck of a screaming condemned woman, as people looked on open-mouthed. Unlike solving some of Saudi Arabia’s deep-seated problems, the curtailing of such “justice” would have just required one firm intervention from King Abdullah. It is clear, this was not a priority for him. 5. Human rights: Torture and gavel There is no legal code in Saudi Arabia, leaving it to individual judges to set the punishment for a crime in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic scriptures. This gives them unlimited power, creating arguably one of the most inconsistent justice systems in the world, in which crimes and punishments are simply made up, leaving the convicts no obvious way to appeal. In addition, much of the legal process hinges on a “confession” from the defendant, which in turn encourages torture. In practice, the information obtained this way is even less reliable than that received from inmates at Guantanamo, as instead of trying to extract provable data, the torturers are merely demanding admissions of guilt – by all means available. King Abdullah attempted to rationalize the system, by creating more appeal courts, and introducing a stricter selection of judges. However, he did not question the value of the legal system as a whole, and all judges that have been appointed in the past two decades have been personally approved by him. 6. Women’s rights: Female (non-)drivers Over the past decade, the battle lines have been drawn on the symbolic issue of women drivers in Saudi Arabia. The Gulf monarchy is the last country in the world, where women are still not allowed to drive. Reuters/Faisal Al Nasser The issue is not near resolution, and women caught behind the wheel – whether during a symbolic protest, or an ordinary drive – can still end up sentenced to lashings. In fairness, King Abdullah did intervene in at least one case in 2011, to commute a punishment. But of course, for the majority of Saudi women, driving is the least of their problems. Many would prefer to be able to leave the house, make a purchase, sign any legal document – in fact perform almost any official action, from agreeing to surgery, to signing up to a class – without the consent of a guardian, either the husband or the father. Yet, even these suffocating measures give only scant impression of the status of Saudi women in a society where even their court testimony is worth half of that of a man. King Abdullah encouraged more women to go into education, and allocated them a fifth of the seats in his advisory chamber, also allowing them to vote and run in the 2015 municipal elections. As with other reform areas, these are top-down symbolic gestures that have done little to affect most Saudi women, who - outside of warzones - remain some of the most disadvantaged anywhere in the world. Still, Abdullah’s admirers can hope that his first steps will lay the foundation to profound change, not patronizing concessions. Reuters/Faisal Al Nasser 7. Terrorism fight: Friend or foe? A voluntary $100 million donation to the UN’s counter-terrorism center last year was a show of generosity from Riyadh, but what the Saudis give with one hand, they seem to take away with the other. According to the diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks in 2010, the US regards Saudi Arabia as the biggest source of Sunni terrorism funding in the world, and a “crucial” piggy-bank for Al-Qaeda and other radical groups. While much of its funding comes from private individuals, their identity is unlikely to have been a secret to King Abdullah, who did nothing to rein in his family members. In fact, one could be tempted to feel that the House of Saud is only against the “wrong” kind of terrorist – mostly Shia, but also splinter Sunni groups that threaten its hegemony over the region. When the “right” kinds of terrorist – Russia’s Chechen militants, or anti-Assad rebels – appear, then those in Riyadh palaces not only support them with funds, but see them as a legitimate tool for spreading influence and the favored Wahhabi ideology. Fighters of al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant carry their weapons during a parade at the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, near the border with Turkey January 2, 2014. (Reuters/Yaser Al-Khodor) ========= Yemen crisis is first big test for Saudi Arabia's King Salman Mon, Jan 26 04:54 AM EST image By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - The turmoil hitting Saudi Arabia's neighbor Yemen will pose the first big test for King Salman, and provide a glimpse as to whether his approach to hotspots in a fragmenting region will differ from that of his late brother. Yemen is at risk of breaking up with the ascent of the Houthi movement, a group whose main strategic alliance is with Riyadh's great regional foe Iran, in a country also home to Sunni al Qaeda's most active affiliate. In that respect, Yemen reflects what has happened across the Middle East, with Tehran's Shi'ite Muslim allies dominating war-torn Iraq and Syria, and Saudi Arabia attempting to back Sunni groups without bolstering its Islamist militant enemies. Under King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia constructed a dual-track regional policy of attempting to contain Iranian influence while at the same time opposing the growth of Sunni political Islam which it saw as an ideological threat to dynastic rule. That does not look likely to change, although the arrival of a younger man may make for a more active approach, possibly including a new effort to reach out and engage local players in Yemen, analysts say. Foreign policy in Saudi Arabia is a team job for the clique of ruling princes, even though it is the king who has the ultimate say. Salman was an integral part of Abdullah's team, and he brings many of the same princes into his own. "They are not going to get involved in a quagmire. I don't think there will be major change. It's about containment," said a Saudi close to policymakers. However, the fact that he is 11 years younger than Abdullah, and able to give more direct attention to the big issues, may mean Saudi policy will become more proactive, particularly in Yemen, where there have been years of quiet disengagement. "I think they're going to go to Yemen with open eyes and will try to contact all parties in the crisis and not exclude anyone," said Mustafa Alani, a security expert with close ties to the kingdom's Interior Ministry. After decades buying the support of tribes, politicians and clerics in Yemen, the Al Saud watched as their patronage network fell apart during a 2011 uprising and have now fallen back on a defensive security policy. Riyadh is constructing a tough series of border defenses to insulate itself from its turbulent neighbor and has cut off funding to Sanaa, hoping that will eventually persuade Yemen's new rulers to compromise. FOREIGN EXPERIENCE Sunday editions of the main Saudi newspapers ran at more than triple length, as companies bought full-page adverts to express their condolences for the late Abdullah and allegiance to King Salman and his two designated heirs. Both Crown Prince Muqrin, who was intelligence chief from 2005-12 and whose mother was Yemeni, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is Interior Minister, have been closely involved in Saudi Arabia's Yemen policy. It is Prince Mohammed, whose main focus is on assuring the kingdom's domestic security, who has been most prominent in shaping its Yemen policy in recent years, working closely with Sanaa against al Qaeda, but also strengthening border defenses. "The Saudis are looking for a real partner. They are very, very confused," said a source close to Yemen's government, adding that they would not support any government that the Houthis shared in. A more proactive Yemen policy might mean reaching out to former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Islah party, erstwhile allies of Riyadh but whose unreliable track record and ties to the Muslim Brotherhood later became anathema to Abdullah. Salman may feel less worried about Islah, which beside the Brotherhood is also tied to tribal players and street leaders of the 2011 uprising, and may consequently adjust Riyadh's attitude towards it as one potential partner in Yemen, say analysts. Any change in attitude towards Islah would be closely watched by Egypt, where President Abdel Fatteh el Sisi has ruthlessly crushed the Brotherhood with the vocal encouragement of Abdullah and still seeks Saudi economic support. However, Riyadh views Yemeni politics as distinct from those of the wider region, so its behavior towards Islah or the Houthis might not reflect wider stances towards the Brotherhood or Iran. "I don't think their policy towards Yemen is reflective of their policy towards the world. It's their back yard and very particularistic and idiosyncratic," said Bernard Haykel, professor of near east studies at Princeton. IRAN RIFT There seems little chance that the region-wide tussle for power with Iran will abate, despite brief visits by its Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday and Saturday for Abdullah's funeral and the formal paying of respects. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has pushed for better ties between the two countries, whose rivalry has been a factor in conflicts across the Middle East. Zarif and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal met at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. Tehran has attacked Prince Saud for his harsh words towards Iran's policy in Syria, and diplomats say the Islamic republic views him as a hardliner who is obstructing detente. However, Prince Saud, who had an operation in the United States on Sunday, state media reported, does not set foreign policy alone. While his voice is important, he just one among several top princes who contribute, with the king having the final say. The senior ranks of the Al Saud regard Tehran's continued support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as an immovable obstacle to rapprochement, and the crisis in Yemen has only served to further harden them against Iran's call for detente. "Salman is quite hawkish on Iran. He's personally quite hawkish. The Iranians would have to do a lot for him to change his policy," said Haykel. (Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy in Sanaa and William Maclean in Dubai; editing by Philippa Fletcher) ========= Yemen risks disintegration as south rejects Shi'ite group's takeover Sun, Jan 25 06:43 AM EST image By Yara Bayoumy SANAA (Reuters) - No sooner had Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi announced his resignation than his country's tenuous political fabric began to disintegrate. Provinces across a nation barely held together by a complex web of tribal and religious alliances said they would no longer take military commands from Sanaa after the Iranian-allied Shi'ite Houthi group besieged Hadi's home and palace this week. The emerging fragmentation of the Arabian Peninsula country has sparked fears of the "Somalization" of a state which is home to a revitalized al Qaeda insurgency as well as a neighbor to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia. For Washington, Yemen's splintering would make it hard to carry out a counter-terrorism strategy against al Qaeda plotters who have targeted it and its ally Saudi Arabia and claimed responsibility for the Jan. 7 Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris. Through Hadi, a supporter of U.S. drone strikes on al Qaeda, Yemen was a top U.S. ally in the Washington's fight against islamist militancy. For Yemen's neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia, the rise of the Houthis resembles yet another fallen domino in capitals where allies of regional rival Iran have risen to power - including Damascus, Beirut and Baghdad. The Houthi fighters, a guerrilla force drawn from a Shi'ite minority that ruled a thousand-year kingdom in Yemen's highlands until 1962, first seized the capital Sanaa in September. They managed to coexist with Hadi until last week, when fighters crushed the president's guards and deployed outside his home. Although Hadi signed a deal acceding to many of the Houthis' demands, that attempt to defuse the crisis failed and he unexpectedly resigned soon afterwards. ANGRY, SCARED His move sparked a chain reaction from other provinces, some home to powerful military divisions, to dissociate themselves with the capital, where the Houthis are ostensibly in control even if they have not quite figured out a way to govern. "People are angry, people are scared. The worst is that it could turn into a civil war," a diplomatic source said. "It's chaos," said another diplomat. In the southern city of Aden, once the capital of a Marxist independent South Yemen, the local security committee said it would no longer receive orders from the capital Sanaa. Yemen's north and south united in 1990 but civil war broke out four years later, with then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh crushing southern secessionists to maintain the union. Now, various leaders of a long stagnant separatist movement have announced their secession. None speak for the entire region, comprised of eight provinces, sparking fears of further localized fighting among southerners. "WE REJECT THE COUP" In Aden, local groups raised the flag of the south in the general security building. In Mukallah, the capital city of the Hadramout province, militia fanned out across the city. In Ateq, capital city of the restive Shabwa province, local media reports said joint patrols by a secessionist group and local security had also taken over security of the area. In the eastern oil-rich province of Marib, which has emerged as a flashpoint between the Houthis and Sunni tribesmen in recent months, local political and security officials denounced the Jan. 19 events as a coup and said they would no longer take orders from Sanaa either. In Taiz and Ibb, thousands of anti-Houthi protesters also took to the streets. "We reject the coup," they said, in festive street protests reminiscent of the 2011 "Arab Spring" demonstrations that brought down Hadi's long-serving predecessor, Saleh. Even in Sanaa, factional fighting is a possibility with the army torn in its loyalties to the ousted Saleh or to the orders of the Houthis. The political vacuum showed no signs of easing as parliament indefinitely postponed its session to approve or reject Hadi’s resignation as backroom political dealings carried on to negotiate a way out of the crisis. PARALYSIS In recent days the capital has seen the first serious rejection of Houthi rule since their takeover. Many Sanaa residents have complained as fighters have set up checkpoints, taken over government ministries and spray painted their green-and-red Iranian-inspired "Death to America, Death to Israel" slogans on mosques and the wall around the Old City. Initially there was little public action in a country that has gone through numerous cycles of instability. But this week saw the largest anti-Houthi demonstration since the movement took over the capital. "We say no to the coup. No to Abdelmalek al-Houthi," said Samar, 35, referring to the Houthis' leader, whose family name is carried by the group. In a sign the Houthis might be losing patience, witnesses said they broke up a small protest outside Sanaa University on Sunday, firing shots in the air and arresting eight protesters. For Ahmed Ali, an elderly corn seller on the busy streets of Sanaa, the protests are no use. "The Houthis are bulls. I support these protests but what is the use? The Houthis deal with force." (Editing by William Maclean and Peter Graff) ===================== Tue, Jan 20 17:13 PM EST By Yara Bayoumy and Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - Fighters from the Houthi group battled guards at the Yemeni president's private home and entered the presidential palace on Tuesday, witnesses said, as a second day of violence in Sanaa raised fears the country was descending into chaos. In a speech on live television, Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi suggested two days of fighting involving his men, condemned by U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, were part of an attempt to protect a power-sharing deal meant to steer Yemen to stability. His speech was repeatedly critical of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a U.S. ally with whom Houthi has been at odds over a draft constitution intended to help end decades of conflict and underdevelopment. He said no one, including Hadi, was above any steps when it came to implementing the power-sharing accord, which was negotiated after his men seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in September. Houthi prizes the accord as it grants his group participation in all military and civil state bodies. "We ... will not hesitate to impose any necessary measures to implement the peace and partnership agreement," said Houthi, whose Shi'ite Muslim group is widely seen as an ally of Iran in its regional struggle for influence with Saudi Arabia. TENSIONS The emergence of the Houthis as Yemen's top power in September has scrambled alliances and stoked tensions across Yemen's political spectrum, raising fears of deeper instability in a country that has one of al Qaeda's most active branches. Yemeni Information Minister Nadia al-Saqqaf said the clashes at Hadi's residence amounted to an attempt to topple Yemen's government, a charge denied by a senior official of the Houthi group. The clashes followed some of the worst fighting in Sanaa in years on Monday. Guards loyal to Hadi fought artillery battles near the presidential palace with the Houthi, which has been in conflict with Hadi over political and constitutional issues. "Yemeni president under attack by armed militias seeking the overthrow of the ruling system," Saqqaf said on Twitter on Tuesday evening. Residents said later the fighting had died down. A government official said two people had been killed. The minister did not identify the militias, but she said they were firing from nearby houses. Hadi lives in his private home and not in the palace. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi politburo, said his group had no plans to target Hadi. "Ansarullah has no intention of targeting President Hadi or his house," Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the group's politburo, told Reuters, using the group's official name. He said what happened at Hadi's house was the result of a "provocation" by Hadi's security and that the incident has been contained. Earlier on Tuesday, Houthi fighters had entered Yemen's presidential palace after a brief clash with security guards, witnesses and security sources told Reuters. DENIAL Bukhaiti said the Popular Committees acted at the presidential palace on request from officers who had asked them to help stop a local officer from stealing weapons from the compound. In Washington, Obama's senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said the president was following the situation in Sanaa. "He's obviously is in touch with the folks on the ground, our embassy, he's getting regular updates from his national security team," Jarrett, said speaking in a television interview on MSNBC. Asked whether there was a plan in place to evacuate U.S. embassy staff or other Americans, Jarrett said she had no specific comment but added: "We are in close touch with our embassy." U.S. officials have expressed worries about Iranian support, including weapons, for Houthi's Shi’ite fighters. They had hoped that the power-sharing deal struck in September between the country’s political factions would calm the situation. Washington has made clear in the past that it sees chaos in Yemen as creating conditions that al Qaeda can exploit to strengthen its support and let it use the country for plotting attacks on Western interests. Even amid the growing turmoil of recent months, U.S. policy makers have considered Yemen’s government a model of regional collaboration on counterterrorism for its support of U.S. drone strikes and special forces operations against militants. (Writing by Sami Aboudi, Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by William Maclean and Angus MacSwan, Larry King) ==================== URL : https://gulfanalysis.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/the-federalism-dimension-in-yemens-draft- Excerpts from : Reidar Visser's analysis The partition of the north into four separate subunits is known to have prompted strong objections from the Shiite-leaning Houthi movement, which senses it will be left short-changed in a way that is not commensurate with its recent military successes. provisions for 40% representation of the two southern regions in the first parliament (article 139) and a requirement that senate decisions must enjoy support of at least a third of southern senators (article 143). The president (who, unlike Iraq, will be the main executive) and his deputy are to be elected on a single list representing more than one region (article 180), The most important issue concerns division of power between the different levels of government. The Yemeni draft is unsatisfactory in this respect, exactly like the Iraqi constitution that was adopted in 2005, and arguably a lot less clear than the recently published Libyan draft constitution. The problem is the unsatisfactory way in which the concept of residualism is tackled. In most federations, division of power is defined by a list of powers that are reserved for either the centre or for the subunits exclusively – with everything else (the “residual”) by implication being reserved for the other. There appears to be an attempt at establishing residualism in favour of the regions for anything not specifically mentioned at any level. On the other hand, a noteworthy item among the powers reserved exclusively for the regions (article 337) is the right to sign deals for trade and investment. But other “exclusive” areas are less exclusive in reality. On top of this, article 341 seems to establish the principle of residualism in favour of the regions for whatever competencies are not enumerated specifically for either the central government or the local subunits. One would think that oil and gas could be one such residual area but that is not the case in the Yemeni constitutional draft. Instead, separate sections (articles 357 and 387-90) address energy issues, but only by way of generalities, leaving the designation of revenue distribution and the management of the oil sector for future legislation. With vague concepts like “a just (adila) distribution” the Yemeni draft constitution offers even less in terms of guidelines than the hapless Iraqi one from 2005, and much less than the relatively clear Libyan constitutional draft that was released recently. It has been suggested that fury simply over the proposed administrative divisions and the six-way federal scheme was a contributing factor behind the recent moves of the Houthis against the Yemeni president. ===============

Talks on new Yemeni government collapse over Shi'ite Houthi subsidy demands

Al Qaeda attacks kill at least 33 people in Yemen Mon, Oct 20 15:09 PM EDT By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - At least 33 people were killed in a suicide bombing and gun attacks in central Yemen, tribal sources and medics said on Monday, as al Qaeda fighters seized a Yemeni city in a new challenge to the central government. Violence has spread in Yemen since Shi'ite Muslim Houthis took over the capital, Sanaa, last month, threatening the stability of a country that borders on Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter. Houthi forces have fanned out into central and western Yemen, posing a challenge to Sunni tribesmen and al Qaeda militants, who regard the Houthis as heretics. Fighting has flared in several provinces. In the latest attacks, an al Qaeda suicide bomber drove a car towards the home of a local government official in the town of Radda in al-Bayda province, killing at least 13 people, medical sources said. Ansar al-Sahrai, an al Qaeda affiliate, said in a statement the attack targeted a meeting at a Houthi leader's house and that "dozens were killed or wounded". Earlier in the day, tribal sources said al-Sharia fighters on Sunday night shelled a Radda house where a local Houthi leader lives, killing gunmen. At least 10 Houthi fighters were killed in two other incidents, one on the outskirts of Radda and another at a checkpoint in the nearby Ibb province, tribal sources said. Ansar al-Sharia said in a report from the al-Orsh area in al-Bayda that "dozens of Houthis" have been killed or wounded in battles since Sunday evening, and that two of its fighters were killed in Ibb. Radda, with a population of 60,000, has long been a stronghold of Ansar, which includes many fighters from local tribes who are up in arms over the presence of Houthi rebels in the mainly Sunni region. There is growing international concern about Yemen's turmoil because of its proximity to Saudi Arabia and international shipping lanes, as well as the risk of al Qaeda using the country as a springboard for attacks abroad. QAEDA INSURGENTS SEIZED MAJOR TOWN In a significant development, residents and activists said al Qaeda fighters had marched into al-Odayn, a city of 200,000 in the central province of Ibb, captured the local government offices and raised their black and white flag over it. "They came in at midday, invaded the town, chanting Allahu Akbar (God is Greater) and seized the government compound unopposed," one resident of al-Odayn said. Residents also said Sunni militants destroyed the home of a local Houthi member who had been trying to recruit local fighters to join a popular committee, a kind of a grassroots police force Houthis have established in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula country. The Houthis' advance and clashes with Ansar al-Sharia prompted often faction-ridden regional Sunni tribesmen to close ranks to try to protect themselves. In a statement issued on Sunday, a committee of local tribesmen warned that they would not tolerate the presence of "any armed militia from any party" in al-Bayda province and called on the central government to step in to maintain order. "The state must carry out its national duty to spare the province of sectarian strife," said the statement, which was obtained by Reuters. The Yemeni armed forces have largely avoided confronting the Houthis since they moved into Sanaa last month, leading to speculation that President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was tacitly allowing the group to move freely while a new government is being formed. Whether it would command more authority than the last one is questionable, however. While the Houthis signed a power-sharing pact with other political parties, that has not deterred them from thrusting into other regions of Yemen. In a further sign of gathering chaos, al Qaeda militants on Monday raided the Um al-Maghareb military airport in the eastern province of Hadramout province, not far from the Saudi border, and looted equipment, military and security sources said. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Larry King) ================================ Talks on new Yemeni government collapse over Shi'ite Houthi subsidy demands Sun, Aug 24 08:00 AM EDT image 1 of 5 By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - Talks on forming a new Yemeni government collapsed on Sunday over demands by Shi'ite Muslim Houthis to restore fuel subsidies cut by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, officials said, and further demonstrations in the capital Sanaa were expected. The Houthis, who have been fighting for years for more power for their Zaydi Shi'ite Muslim sect in north Yemen, have massed tens of thousands of supporters on the outskirts of Sanaa to press the government to quit and to restore fuel subsidies. The government offered on Saturday to resign within a month to pave the way for a technocrat administration that would review the fuel subsidy issue, but officials said the Houthis had demanded an immediate reinstatement of the subsidies. The standoff has raised fears for the stability of Yemen, a majority Sunni Muslim country of 25 million that is allied with the United States and borders major oil exporter Saudi Arabia. The government blamed the Houthis for the failure of talks. "The Houthis have reneged on all previous understandings, including joining a new government and an offer to reduce the price of oil products, at the first government meeting," Abdel Malek al-Mekhlafi, a spokesman for the government committee assigned to negotiate with the Houthis, told Reuters. "They have threatened to escalate (their protests) if the decision to raise fuel prices is not cancelled," he added. Daifallah al-Shami, a leader of the Houthi group, made clear the demand for reinstating fuel subsidies was non-negotiable for his side and said the peaceful protests would continue. "(Reversing the increase in fuel prices) is a popular demand and cannot be abandoned," Shami told Reuters. "No other issues can be discussed." MORE RALLIES PLANNED Rival demonstrations are scheduled to take place in Sanaa later on Sunday, one by Houthi loyalists and one by supporters of President Hadi, but residents said they did not expect the two to come into contact with each other. Hadi has put the army on a state of heightened alert to tackle any resort to violence during the Sanaa demonstrations. The Houthis have been emboldened by recent military gains against rival Sunni Muslim tribesmen and allied government troops north of the capital. In a report on their website on Sunday, the Houthis said that one of their members had been killed and three wounded in an attack by Sunni Islamist gunmen on one of their offices in eastern Sanaa on Saturday. The al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia said in messages posted on social media that two of its members had been killed in the incident. Yemen's Gulf neighbours and Western partners, which helped the country stave off civil war in 2011, have watched the dispute between Sanaa and the Houthis with mounting concern. Last week, they urged the Houthis to stop trying to gain territory by force and to engage in a political transition process. The government's decision last month to raise fuel prices was part of efforts to rein in its budget deficit and helped the impoverished Arab state to conclude talks on a $560 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).. Last year, it spent about $3 billion on the fuel subsidies, nearly a third of all state revenues. The Houthis, whose protests began last Monday, have pitched tents on a road leading to the airport near to key ministries. Their protests have tapped into wider public anger among Yemenis over the subsidy cuts. A previous attempt to cut subsidies, in 2005, led to unrest in which about 20 people were killed and more than 200 wounded. The reform was cancelled. (Reporting by Mohamed Ghobari; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Gareth Jones) =============================== Sunni tribesmen and Houthi fighters clash in Yemen, 15 dead Fri, Oct 17 14:06 PM EDT image 1 of 2 SANAA (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed in heavy fighting between Sunni Muslim tribesmen and Shi'ite Houthi rebels in central Yemen on Friday, increasing fears of outright sectarian warfare. The Houthi rebels also entered Radaa city, in the central province of al-Bayda, a bastion of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), local officials and residents said. The Houthis established themselves as Yemen's new powerbrokers last month, capturing the capital Sanaa on Sept. 21 to little resistance from residents or from the weak administration of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Their ascendance has angered al Qaeda, which views Shi'ites as heretics and Houthis as pawns of Iran. Last week, AQAP claimed a suicide bombing on a Houthi gathering that killed at least 47 people. In Friday's fighting, medical sources said 15 people from both sides were killed on the outskirts and inside the city of Ibb, 150 km (90 miles) south of Sanaa. "We are hearing the sound of machine-guns and mortars everywhere," a resident told Reuters by telephone. The city of Ibb borders al-Bayda province. Al Qaeda said in a statement that its fighters had stormed the town of Odein, near Ibb on Wednesday, killing three soldiers and holding it for nine hours before withdrawing. Houthi fighters have been making advances outside of Sanaa in recent days, taking over cities and towns with the apparent agreement of the authorities there. At least 10 people were killed on Thursday in fighting between Houthi tribesmen and al Qaeda-linked militants. In addition to the rise of AQAP and the Houthi takeover of Sanaa, Yemen, an impoverished country of 25 million people, faces a secessionist movement in the south. The widespread and growing instability has alarmed neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and other Gulf Arab states. Western and Gulf Arab countries have supported a U.N.-backed political transition since 2012 led by Hadi and meant to shepherd the country to stability after decades of autocracy. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Gareth Jones) =======================

Blast 'hits Hezbollah heartland in Beirut'

Gunmen kill leading figure of Yemeni Shi'ite group Tue, Jan 21 04:35 AM EST image 1 of 3 SANAA (Reuters) - Unknown assailants shot dead a leader of the Yemeni Shi'ite Muslim Houthi group in Sanaa on Tuesday while driving to attend the final session of reconciliation talks aimed at tackling the country's political and security challenges. Yemen has been torn by rising violence and lawlessness as the U.S.-allied country struggles to overcome political turmoil after long-serving President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down following months of mass protests against his rule in 2011. Officials said that Ahmad Sharafeddin, a Houthi delegate at the reconciliation talks who had been dean of the law faculty at Sanaa University, was killed when gunmen opened fire on him in his vehicle from a speeding car in central Sanaa. They said he died instantly and the gunmen escaped. http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/01/21/4704035/ It was not immediately clear who was behind the assassination, but another Houthi leader, Abdulkarim al-Khiwani, accused hardline Sunni Muslim militants of carrying out the attack. The Houthi group fought radical Sunni Salafis in northern Yemen from October until earlier this month, when a ceasefire was reached earlier to relocate the Salafis to another city some 250 km (155 miles) away. But clashes have continued in other parts of northern Yemen with tribesmen allied to the Salafis. More than 210 people have been killed in the fighting that erupted in late October after the Houthis accused the Salafis of recruiting foreign militants in preparation to attack them. The Salafis, who follow an austere brand of Sunni Islam, say the foreigners are students of Islamic theology. The sectarian rivalry has cast a shadow over reconciliation efforts in Yemen, a neighbor of top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and home to one of al Qaeda's most active wings. Tuesday's attack was the latest in a string of killings against high-profile Yemenis and foreigners. Last week an Iranian diplomat was killed in Sanaa when he resisted gunmen who were trying to kidnap him. Despite the challenging security conditions, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi addressed the final session of the reconciliation talks, which is due to produce a new constitution for Yemen and approve a federal system for the country. The talks, which began in March last year, have been stuck on southern separatist demands to revive the state that merged with North Yemen in 1990. The delegates have agreed on a federal system but have yet to work out some of the details, which will be tackled by a special committee headed by Hadi. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by Yara Bayoumy and Tom Heneghan) ======================= Bomb rips through southern Beirut Blast 'hits Hezbollah heartland in Beirut' (AFP) – 10 minutes ago Beirut — An explosion hit Hezbollah's southern Beirut bastion on Tuesday, the Lebanese Shiite movement's television channel Al-Manar said. The blast took place on a busy commercial street that was targeted by a deadly suicide car bombing in early January. "The explosion took place on Al-Arid street in Haret Hreik," Al-Manar reported. An AFP photographer near the scene reported plumes of smoke rising over the densely populated neighbourhood. The television channel broadcast footage of scores of firemen working to put out a blaze, as scores of people gathered at the scene of the blast. Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved An explosion has rocked a busy suburb in southern Beirut that is known to be a Hezbollah stronghold. It is the second time in just two weeks that the area has been hit by a bomb blast. The number of casualties is currently unknown, but Al Jazeera's Nisreen el Shamyleh, reporting from Beirut, said that the explosion was near a government building. "This is a very targeted area of Beirut," our correspondent said. "It is a very busy area and very residential." Shia armed group Hezbollah's involvement in the Syria conflict has resulted in violence spilling over the border into Lebanon's capital city. More soon. ============== Know my name Fouzia Nasir Ahmad Share Email 0 Comment(s) Print Published at 2014-01-26 07:39:10 It was Jan 13, 2013, when 21-year-old Eltaf Hussain was on his way to the dharna outside Bilawal House, Karachi to protest against Hazara killings in Quetta. “How can the rest of the world go on with their daily business, when such a terrible incident has happened to us?” he thought? “Why doesn’t the world stop after so many people have been killed?” Hussain belongs to the Hazara community of Quetta, a city where he has spent most of his young life. “After completing my intermediate at the Tameer-i-Nau Public College in Quetta, I took a year off as things became dramatically worse for Hazaras. One day my father said to me: ‘you can’t live your life like this’. I then decided to move to Karachi with the sole purpose of continuing my education as it was impossible to do that in Quetta.” While the Alamdar Road massacre projected the plight of the Hazara onto the national consciousness, it was by no means the beginning of the pogroms against this community. “I remember that a long time back I was with my father at Sariab Road and he wanted me to wear dark glasses to cover my eyes. I was annoyed even though I knew that anybody can tell from our eyes that we are Hazara. Later I realised why my father was saying that. He always wore glasses himself. Not long ago, I had to go to the Board Office in Quetta and I covered my face. I wasn’t happy doing this but I knew that this way I would be safer. Things have changed for us over time.” The year 2008 was a turning point for Pakistan’s Hazaras, when individuals from the community began to be targeted regularly. “Government officials from our community, professionals and even police officers were killed,” recalls Hussain. “There was an incident in Jinnah Town, and then two people were killed on Samundari Road. Wherever they would see a Hazara person, they would kill him,” said Hussain. While the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has claimed credit for the mass casualty attacks, Hussain suspects there are also those who are seeking to exploit the situation. “When killings are rampant, other elements take advantage too, so anyone threatened by Hazara businessmen also thought it was good opportunity to get rid of them under the umbrella of sectarian killings. For instance, the owner of a shop on Sariab Road did good business and he was targeted. Since the past five or six years, Hazara traders, who were mostly mobile phone distributors have been completely removed from the main bazaars like Sariab Road and from outside the market areas”. Indeed, the Hazara are clearly being pushed into increasingly ghettoised neighborhoods. “Mehrabad in the east, and Hazara Town, are the two main Hazara pockets in Quetta,” says Hussain. “The suburbs of Quetta, like Mastung, are dangerous while Sariab Road is prohibited for us. Sectarian groups there have also targeted security personnel and even FC can’t move freely. There are two routes out of Hazara town: Kirani Road and Spinney Road, and Kirani road is blocked for us. It is open for everyone else but FC personnel does not allow Hazaras to take that road because it is risky. Everybody cannot afford private transport or taxis and people prefer to take a bus to get into town. But we can’t do that anymore.” What astounds him is that in both Hazara Town and Mehrabad, FC personnel are present at all entry points, yet explosive material and suicide bombers managed to enter through the check posts. “If I carry a gun for my protection, I will be thoroughly checked and my arms recovered by FC but it seems that not everybody is checked. There has to be a security lapse somewhere,” says Hussain. For Hazaras, it is not just routes but their entire association with the larger community that has been sealed. “Earlier, we would allow outsiders to come inside our localities for water supply through tankers and sanitation purposes but now we have our own people to do that. As a community, we are cut off from the rest of Quetta. No one can travel by bus anymore and around 60 per cent of students do not go to schools and colleges anymore. It is really sad because our community is very keen on education and despite being a minority, Hazara people used to have a record participation in educational activities. I would have liked my brothers to go to the same college that I went to but it is not possible now.” For such a small, and tightly-knit community, the attacks almost always hit close to home. “The Alamdar Road incident was not far from our house and when it happened, all I could think was how close to it my family was and how I could have lost my mother.” When the Sardar Bahadur Khan University for Women was attacked by terrorists, his sister was two buses away. After the incident her education was discontinued. She was so traumatised that I could not speak to her about it for three weeks. Our localities used to be very pleasant for any visitor. Now we can’t socialise freely with friends outside our locality. We are small minority, so even if 10 people are killed, it is a huge incident for us and each one of us gets affected.” For Hussain, Karachi offers a respite. “We don’t have the same opportunities in Quetta. In Karachi, life is more normal for us and people are a little bit sympathetic. Here, we are not identified as Hazaras. People think we could be Chinese, or Baltis”. He paused and smiled. “A friend of mine who is a charming fellow enjoys posing as a Chinese sometimes just for fun”. There are other differences as well. “There are days one is completely despondent but then, we see a positive social response like the Bilawal House dharna. We would never see that in Quetta, but in Karachi, even Sunnis joined us. It gives us tremendous hope.” His described how his fellow students in Karachi have a completely different exposure to him. “They are amazed to hear what I have been through in my life. They are your regular ‘burger types’ and have never seen dead bodies, blood or the victims of bomb blasts. I feel that the youth of Pakistan should know about the Hazara, their history, culture and the present situation because to live and work together, they must trust each other, and to be able to trust each other, you have to know each other”.

Yemeni rebel leader denies seeking Shi'ite state

Hassan Zayid, head of the supreme council of Yemen's main opposition grouping the Joint Meeting Parties, addresses a news conference in Sanaa October 29, 2009. Opposition parties on Thursday called on the government to announce a ceasefire in the fighting with Shi'ite rebels in north-western Yemen and to settle the conflict through dialogue. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN POLITICS CONFLICT)
29 Sep 2009 10:48:32 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Rebel leader says confict is over 'rights and justice'

* Denies Iranian backing

* Insurgency fans Saudi, U.S. concerns

SANAA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A Yemeni Shi'ite rebel leader on Tuesday denied government claims that the sect's insurgents want to set up a Shi'ite state in north Yemen, describing the conflict as a fight for rights.

Several Arab countries are concerned over the influence of Shi'ite Muslim Iran, which they believe is trying to extend its influence by supporting the sect's minorities in the region.

The rebel leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said some soldiers were cooperating with the rebels despite an "Operation Scorched Earth" launched by the government in early August to try to crush the insurgency by the rebels -- locally known as the Houthis after their leaders' clan.

The United States and Saudi Arabia, Yemen's neighbour and the world's leading oil exporter, fear this conflict and separatist tension in the south could play into the hands of al Qaeda, which has staged a comeback in Yemen with attacks on government and foreign targets over the past two years.

The government has portrayed the conflict as an effort by

extremists of the Shi'ite Zaydi sect to re-establish a cleric-ruled state, or "Imamate" in religious parlance, that fell in 1962 leading to the creation of the Yemeni republic.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, himself a Zaydi, has avoided sectarian language, but government rhetoric elsewhere regularly attacks the rebel movement over their Zaydi beliefs.

"The authority's accusations about the Imamate are just a media war and misleading public opinion. We are not asking for positions, we are asking for rights and justice. The essence of the crisis is political," Houthi said on the rebels' website.

He denied that Iran was backing the rebels or providing arms, which he said some in the army had smuggled to them.

"We have been able to obtain a huge amount of equipment and weapons from (seized) army positions and it is not strange that there are some noble people of conscience in the army who have cooperated with us," Houthi said.

The Houthi rebels say they have been marginalised through a rise in Sunni fundamentalism on the back of Saleh's alliance with Saudi Arabia, whose puranitanical Wahhabi Islam regards Shi'ites as heretics.

Zaydis, who adhere to a different sect from the Shi'ism followed in leading Shi'ite power Iran, are thought to form around a third of Yemen's population of around 23 million.

Saleh said on Saturday the army was ready to fight Shi'ite rebels for years if necessary, calling on them to accept a ceasefire his government has proposed.

The international aid group Oxfam said last week Yemen could soon face a humanitarian crisis as a result of the escalation of fighting. Since disturbances first broke out in 2004 around 150,000 Yemenis have been displaced, aid groups say. (Reporting by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Inal Ersan and Mark Trevelyan)


-----------

Yemen convicts rebels, Iran denies ship seizure

27 Oct 2009 15:11:21 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds southern protests in final two paragraphs)

SANAA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A Yemeni court sentenced to death four men involved in a Shi'ite rebellion in its northern provinces bordering Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, while Iran denied a Yemeni claim to have seized a ship with arms for the rebels.

On Monday, Yemen said it had impounded a vessel carrying weapons destined for the rebels of the Zaidi Shi'ite sect and detained its Iranian crew at the Red Sea port of Medi, in Haja province bordering the area of conflict.

Iran's Arabic language television channel Al-Alam reported "informed Iranian sources" saying on Tuesday that no Iranian vessel delivering weapons to the rebels was stopped, and describing the story as a "media fabrication".

Yemen's embassy in Washington said security officials were questioning the ship's five Iranian crew members.

Sanaa has suggested an Iranian hand behind the rebels, often termed Houthis after their clan and religious leaders. Government officials have said Iranian media backs the rebels and President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Iranian religious figures provide funding.

Shi'ite power Iran and Shi'ite allies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Iraq have called on Sanaa to bring the fighting to an end through negotiations.

The Houthis first took up arms against Saleh's rule in 2004, citing political, economic and religious marginalisation by the Saudi- and Western-backed government.

But the conflict intensified in August when the army unleashed Operation Scorched Earth. Aid groups, who have been given limited access to the northern provinces, say up to 150,000 people have fled their homes since 2004.

The court on Tuesday delivered a death sentence to four of 16 men on trial. Eleven were jailed for up to 15 years, while one was released for already having served out his sentence.

It was the third trial of men who fought government troops for around a month last year at Bani Husheish, 30 km (19 miles) north of the capital Sanaa. Twelve others were sentenced to death in the earlier trials.

On Monday a court opened proceedings in absentia against Yahya al-Houthi, the brother of the rebels' leader, who is now based in Germany.

Veteran ruler Saleh also faces a separatist movement in the south and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia fears the instability will help al Qaeda launch more attacks there.

Witnesses said hundreds of people took to the streets in the southern provinces of Abyan, Lahej and Dalea to demand the release of protesters detained during clashes with security forces in recent months, as well as journalists held over their coverage.

They carried the flag of the former South Yemen, an independent state that united with North Yemen under Saleh's rule in 1990.

(Reporting by Mohamed Sudam; Writing by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Diana Abdallah)

Yemen sentences seven shi'ite rebels to death

06 Jul 2009 12:03:18 GMT
Source: Reuters
SANAA, July 6 (Reuters) - A Yemeni court sentenced seven rebels from a Shi'ite Muslim sect to death on Monday after convicting them of causing deaths in clashes with army in 2008.

Hundreds of people died in the conflict and thousands fled their homes in battles between government forces and the rebels in the north, which have raged on and off since 2004.

The state security court also jailed for terms of 12-15 years another five of the rebels accused of seeking to install Shi'ite Islamic rule in the country, which borders the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

In July 2008, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said the battles with the rebels, known as the Houthis, had ended and that dialogue should replace fighting. The rebels belong to the Shi'ite Zaydi sect and are led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

Officials have often said the rebels want to restore a form of clerical rule prevalent in the country until the 1960s. The rebels, who want Zaydi schools and oppose the government's alliance with the United States, say they are defending their villages against government oppression.

Sunni Muslims form a majority of Yemen's 19 million population, while most of the rest are Shi'ite Zaydis.

One of the poorest countries outside Africa, Yemen is also grappling with a violent campaign by al Qaeda militants, dwindling oil and water resources, unemployment, corruption and a growing community of Somali refugees. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Editing by Inal Ersan; Editing by Jon Boyle)

--------------------

Yemen says kills 11 rebels

03 Sep 2009 09:27:47 GMT
Source: Reuters
SANAA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Yemen said on Thursday it had killed 11 rebels in fighting in the north of the country, while the rebels posted footage on the Internet that appeared to show government troops withdrawing from one area.

Last month fresh fighting erupted between Shi'ite Zaydi Muslims in the mountainous Saad region bordering Saudi Arabia and the central government in Sanaa. Conflict first broke out in 2004.

On Wednesday, the rebels fighting in the north of the Arabian Peninsula country warned of a "long war" after the government rejected a truce offer. [ID:nLR537448]

A military spokesman said government forces had taken control of five rebel hideouts and "destroyed a number of locations where the rebels and terrorists were".

The rebels, led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, published footage on their website that showed dozens of what they said were captured government troops being escorted out of the Maran area.

Information about the conduct of the war has been hard to verify since northern provinces have been closed to media.

More than 100,000 people, many of them children, have fled their homes during the surge in fighting, a U.N. agency said last month, and aid groups have complained of poor access to the war zone. [ID:nN2184004]

The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday it had managed to distribute food aid to only 10,000 in Hajjah and Saada governorates in August compared to 95,000 people in July due to limited access.

The United Nations children's organisation UNICEF launched an appeal on Wednesday for $6.1 million to meet the needs of women and children affected by the fighting.

"Nearly half of the funding will help provide for the immediate water, sanitation and hygiene needs of the displaced population and the host communities," it said in a statement. Many are being housed in tented camps.

The rebels accuse Saudi Arabia of backing the government and the government sees an Iranian hand behind the rebels.

The government says the rebels want to restore a Shi'ite state overthrown in the 1960s and this week summoned the Iranian ambassador over Iranian media's coverage of the fighting.

The rebels say they want more autonomy, including Zaydi schools in their area. They oppose the spread of Saudi-influenced Sunni fundamentalism and accuse the government of indiscriminate bombing of villages. (Reporting by Mohamed Sudam; writing by Andrew Hammond and Tamara Walid)

-------------------
Yemen: ICRC and Yemen Red Crescent aid thousands as fighting continues
03 Sep 2009 08:07:32 GMT

The current armed clashes in northern Yemen have continued for almost three weeks, and the humanitarian situation is deteriorating.

Thousands have fled, taking refuge with relatives or host families.

Makeshift shelters have been set up in neighbouring areas, but some people have fled as far as the capital Sana'a, more than 300 km to the south.

The ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent Society have registered over 25,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in the provinces of Sa'ada and Amran and staff of the two organizations are working around the clock to respond to the most urgent needs.

"The dire humanitarian situation is hitting women and children especially hard,” said Daniel Gagnon, the ICRC's acting head of sub-delegation in Sa'ada.

But ICRC and Yemen Red Crescent aid is making a difference.

"Some of us have already received mattresses, gas bottles and food," said a displaced woman in Wadi Khaiwan.

She and her family had to flee al-Harf city in the north of Amran province.

"This helps us get along and makes us less of a burden to our host families and neighbours, who have very little themselves." In and around Sa'ada city, over 4,200 people are living in Al-Ihsa', Sam and Al-Talh camps, which are run by the ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent.

But as Daniel Gagnon points out, "there are thousands more in Sa’ada governorate who need our help.” Over 5,500 people are staying with host families in Sa'ada city.

As the influx continues, the ICRC is looking for ways of accommodating more.

"What the people need most is clean water, food and shelter,” said Daniel Gagnon.

"With commercial traffic paralyzed because of the fighting, people find it difficult to get supplies.” The conflict makes it difficult to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid, with fighting in parts of Sa'ada and Amran provinces hampering operations.

Despite the obstacles, ICRC and Yemen Red Crescent staff continue to bring help whenever the situation allows them to move safely.

How displaced people have benefited from ICRC activities in recent days

Medical supplie
A health centre in Wadi Khaiwan (Amran province) received basic medicines and a tent to act as a “waiting room”.

Yemen Red Crescent staff in Baqim (Sa'ada province) received ICRC support in the form of medicines for the treatment 400 patients.

The Yemen Red Crescent doctor based in Al-Azgoul received medicines.

Food and water
In Sa'ada province, 5,000 displaced people in the Al-Talh area received flour, rice and cooking oil, while more than 250 people in the Qataber area received flour.

5,500 people living with host families in Sa'ada city received flour, rice and beans.

Several dozen displaced families in Baqim and Al-Mahader (Sa'ada province) received daily water deliveries.

850 displaced people in Wadi Khaiwan (Amran province) received drinking water.

Shelter and other essential items
Over 3,500 families who fled to Sa'ada city are receiving basic household items.

ICRC and YRCS teams have been distributing blankets, mattresses, tarpaulins, jerrycans, soap, stoves, gas cylinders and other items to 2,500 people in the Wadi Khaiwan, Amran province.

Over 1,900 people from Al-Mahader, west of Sa'ada city, and more than 560 people in Sa'ada city itself received such essential household items as blankets, mattresses, tarpaulins, jerrycans, soap, stoves and gas cylinders.

7,000 people registered in the Baqim area should be receiving shelter and other essential items in the next few days.

The ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent are working on accommodating 3,000 people as soon as possible.

The ICRC has been working in Yemen since 1962 and in Sa'ada governorate since 2004.

Its workforce has been increasing steadily since the beginning of the year; the organization currently has 111 staff based in the country – 69 in the capital Sana'a, including 19 expatriates, and 42 in Sa'ada, including five expatriates.


For more information, please contact:
Hicham Hassan, ICRC Sana'a, tel: +967 1 213 844 or +967 712 666 536
Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 227 346 001 or +41 792 519 318


See also ICRC media contacts

This article on www.icrc.org =============================== Oct. 4, 2014 3:07 AM ET Shiite rebels are Yemen's new masters By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES AIM Hawthi Shiite rebels chant slogans at the compound of the army's First Armored Division, after they took it over, in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 22, 2014. Heavily armed Yemeni Shiite militiamen took over the headquarters and house of a powerful army general allied to Sunni Islamists on Monday and set up checkpoints across the capital, Sanaa, after sweeping across the city as the general and his allies fled and went into hiding. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) Islamic State militants attack small Iraq town Oct. 2, 2014 3:40 PM ET Islamist-allied militias in Libya reject UN talks Sep. 30, 2014 12:07 PM ET Battle against Islamic State creates new alliances Sep. 29, 2014 4:20 PM ET Western Muslims, troubled, rally against extremism Sep. 26, 2014 2:34 PM ET Iraqi woman activist killed by Islamic State Sep. 25, 2014 3:02 PM ET SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The capital of Yemen, the Arab world's poorest and perhaps most chronically unstable nation, has new masters. Anti-American Shiite rebels man checkpoints and roam the streets in pickups mounted with anti-aircraft guns. The fighters control almost all state buildings, from the airport and the central bank to the Defense Ministry. Only a few police officers and soldiers are left on the streets. Rebel fighters have plastered the city with fliers proclaiming their slogan — "Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews and victory to Islam" — a variation of a popular Iranian slogan often chanted by Shiite militants in Iraq and supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah. While the world has been focused on the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, Yemen at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula has seen its own sudden, seismic upheaval when Shiite rebels known as the Houthis overran Sanaa two weeks ago. Now the Houthis, who many believe are backed by Shiite-led Iran, are poised to become Yemen's version of the Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon — top powerbrokers dominating the government and running a virtual state-within-a-state. Their takeover of the capital also threatens to bring a violent backlash from hard-line Sunnis, creating a sectarian battle that would boost al-Qaida's branch in Yemen, which the United States has been battling for years in a drone campaign and in coordination with the Yemeni military. The rallying cry of fighting against Shiite power could turn Yemen into a magnet for Sunni jihadis from around the region, like Syria and Iraq. Last week, an al-Qaida suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a hospital used by the Houthis in Maarib province, killing one person. The group, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, vowed to fight the rebels and called on other Sunnis to support it. "You will see your bodies scattered and your heads flying," al-Qaida said in a statement, addressing the Houthis. The U.S.-backed president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, is largely helpless, struggling to form a new government to meet the Houthis' demands. Neighboring Saudi Arabia is worried over a potential pro-Iranian outpost on its border. In an interview with The Associated Press, Jamal Benomar, the U.N. special envoy who has been mediating among the government, the Houthis and other factions, warned that "this takeover of Sanaa by the Hawthis will widely reverberate in Yemen and the region." "Yemen will now be seen as linked to other situations in the region, with regional and international involvement," he said. The Houthis, who call themselves Ansar Allah, Arabic for "Supporters of God," are followers of the Zaydi faith, a branch of Shia Islam that is almost exclusively found in Yemen and makes up about 30 percent of the country's population. Zaydi religious leaders ruled much of northern Yemen for centuries — and the Houthis, backers of the Houthi family, a clan that claims descent from the Prophet Muhammad, have sought to revive Zaydi identity. The rebels, currently led by 33-year-old Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, fought a series of civil wars since the mid-2000s from their stronghold of Saada north of Sanaa. In 2011, they took complete control of Saada province. But their advances this year have been startling. They swept south, defeating Sunni tribesmen loyal to the conservative Sunni Islah party, and in July captured Amran province, which borders the capital. They then overran the capital itself on Sept. 21 as the military largely collapsed. The Houthis present themselves as seeking to achieve the goals of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that led to the overthrow of longtime autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh. They reject a Gulf-brokered deal that led to Saleh stepping down and Hadi taking his place because it largely splits power between Saleh's supporters and the Islah party, which is the Muslim Brotherhood's branch in Yemen. Instead, they say, they want a broader government that includes their movement and southern Yemenis, who have long sought independence. And they want implementation of a plan reached by political parties in January to give greater autonomy to Yemen's regions. "We are not a group isolated from the rest of the country. We are part of the social fabric," Abu Ali al-Hakam, the commander who led the Houthi assault on Sanaa, told AP. He spoke as he visited the captured headquarters of the army's 1st Armored Division, an elite outfit with close links to the Islah party. It had spearheaded army campaigns against the Houthis. "It is not just the Houthis who are controlling Sanaa now, its Yemenis from everywhere," said the diminutive al-Hakam after receiving a hero's welcome by his fighters. The Houthis were quick to tap on the widespread grievances to show themselves as a feasible alternative. "I and my family feel safer now," said Faraj al-Raeeny, a schoolteacher from mainly Zaydi Amran province. "The Houthis resolved many disputes and put right many injustices. They strictly enforce order." Still, not all Zaydis back the rebels, and the takeover is likely to only polarize a nation where the central government is chronically weak. Much of the country is out of government control, plagued by tribal divisions, al-Qaida militant violence, widespread corruption and deep poverty that breeds resentment or rebellion. The scene is further complicated by political rivalries. Hadi's supporters have long accused Saleh loyalists, who still hold key posts in the military, security forces and government, of undermining Hadi in a bid to return to power. Saleh and his loyalists in the army are widely believed to have helped the Houthis by standing aside as the fighters swept into Sanaa. Ali al-Imad, a senior Houthi official, denied there were any "understandings" struck with Saleh's camp, but he acknowledged in an interview with the AP that the two sides — bitter foes in six wars between 2004 and 2010 — shared "temporarily mutual interests." Hadi appeared caught off guard. After Amran was captured in late July, Hadi met with politicians who warned him that the Houthis would move on Sanaa next. "He said he was convinced that the Hawthis will not come near Sanaa," rights lawyer Baraa Shiban, who attended the meeting, told AP. A new, U.N.-brokered accord that was hurriedly signed on the day Sanaa fell to the Houthis calls for a new government, for all armed factions to put down their arms and for the rebels to leave the capital. But there is little sign that will happen. "This peace agreement must be implemented, otherwise the prospect of the disintegration of Yemen as we know it will become real," warned Benomar, who negotiated the accord. Many doubt the Houthis have the need or resources to grab more territory. But they have virtual veto power over who becomes the next prime minister and over the makeup of the next government. And they are locking in their forces' position in the capital — emulating the model of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which in Lebanon is the de facto government in predominantly Shiite areas of southern Beirut and in the south and east of the country. In Sanaa, the Houthis have tightened their grip on the city's northern districts where Zaydis are dominant, as well as the nearby international airport. Tanks and armored vehicles looted from army bases have now been deployed in those areas. After the fall of Sanaa, Houthis staged a massive victory rally in the city, flying Hezbollah flags and portraits of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "It is very clear that Hezbollah is their model. They will never give up control of the airport or the northern districts," Mohammed Qahtan, a senior Islah leader, told the AP in a hotel apartment where he has lived since his Sanaa home was stormed by the rebels. Associated Press Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. =================

Government declares end of military operations

The following article is from the Yemen Times... though poorly edited, it is quite revealing...

the question it begs is this: When someone is an Ithna Ashari Shia named Hossein, lives in Sa'ada, Yemen, has a mass following there, and is supposedly calling for the "restoral" of Imamate, what sort of Imamate would he be talking about?





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Mohammed bin Sallam


YEMENTIMES.COM

Sheikh Al-Houthi’s rebellion will be fully annihilated within 12 hours, also state forces have conquered all of the Mran area though there remain a few pockets of resistance in villages, said Army Chief of Staff Brigadier Mohammed Al-Qasimi.
He said there are a number of armed groups in the northeastern outskirts of Sa’ada, which have been given a warning to surrender, otherwise “they should expect an attack of similar ferocity. ”
“Bloody battles are continuing between Al-Houthi’s militants and government troops in Mran and Hamdan areas. The army now controls a huge area because of superiority in numbers and resources- they used warplanes, regularly bomb Al-Houthi followers,” said a source close to Al-Houthi on Saturday night in a telephone conversation with the Yemen Times.

Eyewitnesses confirmed to France Press that the army used tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery, as Al-Houthi’s followers displayed violent resistance from their positions, sniping and targeting government troops with heavier weapons such as machine guns and missile launchers.
The army went on the offensive after the failure of mediations. Previously President Saleh had ordered, on July 27, a committee to be formed consisting of 26 leading figures including opposition party leaders, ministers, parliamentarians and clerics.
The mediation yielded no results. The committee returned to Sana’a having two opinions, one of them disapproved the army’s breaching the truce suggested by the committee whilst others approved of a military assault backed by high ranking army officials.
The committee, after returning from Sa’ada had held a meeting with the president, in which he asked them to sign a statement that approved of a military solution to the problem. But the majority of the committee members refused to sign the way the President wanted. The committee has been holding meetings till the writing this article and is expected to issue a statement, which has been delayed due to the majority of the committee members abstaining from Saturday’s meeting.
The supporters of Al-Houthi had been increasing in number, reaching recently 3000 men in comparison to 15000 government troops. Bloody clashes had started on June 18 and were continuing upto the writing of this article, claiming the lives of over a thousand civilans and troops, while the number of the wounded is much more. Losses in property and homes have not been estimated yet.
Hussein Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi, a former member of Parliament, follows the Ja’afari school of religion, and is leader of a Shiite group named the “Believing Youth”, which similarly cherishes the Ja’afari school so popular in Iran. The group was established in 1997 with the support of the government to block the Wahabi school in Saudi Arabia to influence the northern part of Yemen, basically inhabited by Zaidis and Ismailis. Many Shiite schools were established along the Yemeni Saudi borders. The Yemeni government recently turned on Al-Houthi, accusing him of proclaiming himself as a Commander of Believers (ruler), calling for restoring the Imamate and threatening the wider peace.
Al-Houthi denies this. He told the BBC in an interview from his stronghold in the Mran area that the state’s allegations are “groundless.” “I call for reciting the holy Koran, disseminating it among people, and hating America and Israel,” stated he.
He said the dispute with the government is political in nature and could have been solved through peaceful negotiations and not through military might and acts of killing and destruction.
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http://www.shiachat.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t37837.html

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Breeding Fanatics, The Jewel Offspring and the Culture of Baseej
Sirralkhalta i.e. the “Secret Formula”
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By Yahya Al-Olfi alolfi@hotmail.com


yementimes.com

Myself, like many Yemenis, denounced the government for its arbitrary arrests of the youth shouting “Death to Israel” Death to USA”. This is because, we thought that this is merely a reflection of the crimes committed by the Israelis against Palestinians and shamelessly endorsed by the USA. But later discerned that such maniacs are in for a holy war against the state, against reason and against the era we are living in. They want to die so that they can credulously win paradise where they were made to believe that they would willow in eternal luxury (who on earth would refuse eternal life with abundant Milk, Honey, Wine and Seventy Gorgeous Lassies for each and every martyr dying in defense of the jewel offspring).
Shiite Islam, is known as a wayward version from mainstream moderate Islam and its secret formula lies in the alleged lineage to the prophet who passed away without leaving any male children. For political reasons and so as to monopoly power or attain a higher status came such a fake lineage.
Indeed in Yemen, this was utilized by the Persians in order to maintain their privileges from which they were threatened to be dispossessed. So this is why they go on against reason. Also, we must not forget that inheritance in religion is deeply ingrained in the human Psyche and that can be easily grasped when looking back at preislamic religions and the religions still practiced nowadays by other humans in the jungles of Africa and South America. In fact, a man like Ibrahim Ben Ali Al-Wazeer- who is living in the USA- has not been affected yet by the extent of human advance in the USA after more than 30 years of residency and still pitifully believes that he is the one and only because he comes from a celestial spiritual jewel as you shall see below.
I have also been intrigued by “Al-Sadr phenomenon in Iraq” because the man came out of nowhere and tended to believe that the Americans were behind him at the start but later found out from listening to the news and reading papers that someone else is standing behind him.
The same applies on Al-Houthi and his fellow minded Yemenis. Anyhow, while I was riding the other day on a minibus I heard a 14 years old boy opposite me telling another one next to him that he has just gotten his graduation certificate from “Badrr center”. The other one asked him where was such a center and what privileges did it offer. The boy answered that, studies and board were on the account of a certain man named “Al-Mahatwari”.
When he took out the certificate in order to show it to his peer I took a glimpse of a fascicle titled “ The Islamic History” in a distinct writing. Under the title I read: “ The Prophet peace be upon him, Ali, Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain Peace be upon them all”.
Out of curiosity and due to what is taking place in Saada and in Najaf by the Shiite fanatics I asked him to please let me have a look . He gave me the fascicle. I opened it expecting to read an objective subject matter dealing with Islamic history but was startled to read a concocted Hadeeth (i.e. supposititious sayings of Prophet Mohammed) The saying goes on to say that almighty Allah (from IEL i.e. God in Semitic Languages such as Karbiel and Gabriel) created a Jewel from his spirit and broke it into two halves, one half dwelled by the offspring of Abdullah i.e. Prophet’s father and the other half for the offspring of Abutalib i.e. uncle of the prophet, the father of Ali.
Then, the almighty ordained that Mohammed becomes his prophet and Messenger and Ali with his offspring become the Custodians after the prophet till doomsday”. The student seems to be from outside Sana’a and as I had to descend because I reached my destination I sufficed myself with quick flicking. A serious question is raised here, who is behind such a center and why did the state permit it to be built on a public property. If the state is behind such “Superstition Teaching Centers” for political reasons, it is now reaping its crop in Saada. If religion is important in non-Arab countries, it is everything in the Arab World and playing with religion is playing with fire.
Who is financing such centers and what sin did the young people commit to let them join these dens of evil and later meet the destiny of the misled fanatics who are now dying in Saada for mere nonsense aided by some tribal sheiks who in the day declare allegiance to the state and shift allegiance in the night just like in the first days of “26th September revolution” keen not to miss worldly interests and are intent to maintain their clandestine religious conviction. Don’t we know that the so-called “Al-Houthi” in Saada merely represents a HISTORIC LIE whereby Yemeni Persians saved themselves from Alshaibani’s wrath after foiling the Barmakide Attempt. This Lie is only compared to the ETHIOPIAN LIE in that Ethiopia is the original land of the Kingdom of Sheba, the evidence is available in history, customs, traditions, names, customs etc. and Yemenis are not idiots for they kept fighting this sinister lie and are still adamant.
The poor youngster fanatics in Saada seek redemption and are being redeemed by the ignorant inheritors of the said fib. The president once said:
“…one should not breed a serpent lest he becomes its victim….” and this is what is happening due to the permission for books issued by “Imam Hussain Foundation in Qum, Iran” to invade the market for I saw with another student a book about “Enjoyment Marriage” published by the same foundation and is authored by a man named “ Mohammed Takki Alhakeem” and bearing the word “Gift” and the stamped address of the foundation in addition to a Magazine titled Al-Husseiniah containing a saying: ” If you weep or merely sob for Alhussein’s death in Karbala, the paradise is guaranteed for you in the hereafter”.
So the Shiite fanatics in Saada are fighting under the title “ Death to Israel and Death to USA” because they believe that the ignorant rogue Alhouthi comes from the Jewel thing and he is their redeemer. They are wishing to die under his flag because he has given them “Indulgence Deeds” just like Al-Khomeini’s Baseej who used to die in swarms during the first gulf war. Shiite Fanaticism is detrimental to Arabs and Muslims and represents less than dust specks with regard to Israel or USA.
Truly such an Islamic school is a malignant carcinoma whose remedy is only successful by elimination because it is even detrimental to the land and the plants and is worse than nuclear waste. Again, the insurgency is Hadaoist and Persian-based not a home-made Zaidi one as wrongly proclaimed. =============== FEATURE-Broader sectarian rift feared in northern Yemen 20 Dec 2011 17:20 Source: Reuters // Reuters A tribal fighter loyal to tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar walks near a building damaged during recent clashes with government forces in Sanaa December 20, 2011. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah * Fighting between Shi'ite Houthis and Sunni Salafis * Foreign powers accused of backing both sides * Conflict feared to spill into Saudi Arabia * U.N. envoy meets with Houthis By Tom Finn SAADA, Yemen, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Their faces bruised and limbs scarred by bullet wounds, scores of young men writhed in agony on shabby mattresses at a Yemeni hospital in Saada, victims of a conflict largely hidden from the world. Shi'ite Muslim rebels in Yemen's northern mountains near Saudi Arabia had fought government forces for years until an uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh this year gave them a free hand in the lawless frontier province of Saada. In recent months the conflict, next door to the world's top oil exporter, has taken on a dangerous sectarian twist. The Houthis, as the rebels are known after the clan of their leaders, have been fighting Salafis, a hardline Sunni Islamic group whose creed is similar to that of Saudi Arabia. Each side offers conflicting accounts on everything from air strikes to motives. The Houthis accuse the Salafis of receiving funds and arms from Saudi Arabia, while the Salafis say their religious schools have been shelled by the Shi'ite rebels. The Houthis deny charges by the Yemeni government and some of its regional allies that they have ties to non-Arab, mostly Shi'ite Iran. The Houthis adhere to the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, doctrinally distinct from that practised in Iran. In the Saudi-funded hospital, Salafi and Houthi fighters lay side by side, nursing wounds from renewed clashes in the Salafi stronghold Damaj that coincided with a visit to Houthi leaders this month by U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar. Some muttered prayers to themselves and stared vacantly at the ceiling. Most were unwilling or unable to talk. A man named Ali, with a pale face and a thick black beard who identified himself as a "supporter" of the Salafis in Damaj, accused the Houthis of trying to "exterminate Sunnis from Saada". Although Saleh has signed a deal to hand power to his deputy after 10 months of protests, Yemen is still roiled by a southern separatist movement and al Qaeda-linked militants who have seized territory in the south, as well as the Houthi revolt. While Saudi Arabia was worried by the potential breakup of Yemen, it was particularly alarmed by the prospect of a Shi'ite mini-state springing up on its border, said Hasan Zaid of Yemen's Shi'ite-dominated al-Haq party. "They hope by funding the Salafis they can weaken the growing strength and popularity of the Houthi movement," he said. Saudi Arabia intervened militarily against the Houthis in 2009 before a ceasefire took hold last year. ANTI-U.S., ANTI-ISRAELI SLOGANS Residents said the latest bout of sectarian violence erupted in early October when a boy walked into a Salafi-controlled medical center brandishing a Houthi protest sign. The boy was assaulted by the Salafis, residents said, triggering an armed conflict, which has continued sporadically in spite of nearly a dozen mediation attempts. "Negotiations have reached a dead end," said Mohammed Abdul-Azizi, a youth activist who accompanied an eight-person delegation from Sana'a to mediate. "Too many people have interests in this conflict." With the government distracted by months of mass protests demanding an end to Saleh's 33 years in office, the Houthis have been able to extend their grip over most of Saada province. Although the latest round of fighting between government forces and the Houthis officially ceased in 2010, the human and financial toll on Saada is still plain to see. Lean-looking children on crutches, maimed by shrapnel, hobble frantically in lines of moving traffic, begging drivers for food and money. Local doctors estimate that 2,000 men, women and children have been handicapped as a result of the war. Years of air raids have virtually demolished Saada's old town, once a proud symbol of Yemen's ancient architecture. Hundreds of houses, their mud-brick walls pocked with bullets, lie empty in a tangle of floorboards, rusting refrigerators and broken stairwells. As Benomar toured Saada city last week, Houthi slogans were everywhere, stencilled in red and green on billboards, government buildings and mosques: "God is Greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. Damned be the Jews. Victory to Islam." POLITICAL PROCESS Although Yemen has a Sunni majority, most northerners are Zaydis. The two communities have a tradition of peaceful coexistence, but the sectarian aspect of the conflict in the north has prompted fears of a wider confrontation. Following his rare meeting with Houthi leaders, Benomar said they were willing to "engage in political negotiations" with the new government and enter a process of national dialogue. Yemen's wealthy Gulf Arab neighbours, with Benomar's help, brokered the power transfer deal with Saleh which led to the formation of a national unity government tasked with preparing for presidential election in February. Like southern separatists, the Houthis are hoping that a federal system will emerge under the new constitution which will grant them more autonomy, Benomar said after talks with the rebels' 35-year-old leader, Abdel Malik al-Houthi. "The Houthis sense there is a new political situation evolving, one which they can potentially be part of," Benomar told Reuters. "For years they have been complaining about exclusion and marginalisation and their main concern now is that the new political deal should not be limited to the traditional political parties." (Writing by Mahmoud Habboush; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Sonya Hepinstall) ================