33 children and 54 women Sa’ada war causalities [Archives:2007/1116/Front Page]

Mohammed bin Sallam
SA'ADA, Dec. 30 ) Army units deployed at Meftah Mountain and others positioned in Marran area struck Wald Nowar village of Haidan District with mortars and tanks Friday afternoon, Sheikh Saleh Habra, Representative of Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, told Yemen Times on Sunday. Up to 33 children and 54 women have been killed and dozens injured in the prolonged confrontations between military and Houthi followers.

The tribal leader noted that the most recent strikes, taking place on Friday, killed three children, including two little girls aged 6 and 11 respectively, and wounded another three children as they were playing in their village.

According to Sa'ada tribal sources, the military forces occasionally attack some areas controlled by Houthis with mortars and medium arms, without clear reasons. The sources said that security forces in the restive governorate are hunting Houthi supporters, adding that policemen kill any Houthis whom they can't capture, despite the Houthis' commitment to the truce announced by the government.

Regarding attempts at mediation between the government and Houthis, Sheikh Habra stated that a new mediation committee arrived in the governorate last week, with the purpose of investigating facts about violations by the army against Houthis. Such violations include assaults with heavy arms and arrest campaigns against Houthi loyalists, notably in the areas of Haidan and Sehar.

Habra confirmed to the same sources that the Qatari and Yemeni presidential committees are still tasked to resolve the Sa'ada crisis, adding that both committees were formed under a Doha agreement that ended the war between Houthi supporters and government troops in June 2007.

“People are enraged by military troops targeting children and women in their random strikes,” Habra told the Yemen Times. “You must know that the army's targeting of women and children is not a new phenomenon; as many as 54 women and 33 children have been reportedly killed and dozens injured since the war broke out. Such behavior implies a lack of morality and values on the part of those who exercise barbaric acts against innocent women and children and randomly attack their villages and homes.”

Local sources in Sa'ada confirmed the breakdown of the fact-finding committee's first meeting, chaired by Sheikh Fares Mohammed Mana'a, an arms dealer, who met Abdulmalik Al-Houthi on Tuesday in Matra.

The sources mentioned that Abdulmalik Al-Houthi set up a number of conditions for the newly formed committee during a lengthy speech, which he delivered before the committee members. According to Al-Houthi, the committee must be in charge of monitoring the situation and reporting any violations committed by either side. He said the new committee must not exceed the limits of its jurisdiction, taking into consideration that the previously constituted Qatari and Parliamentary committee is still doing its job, and any other committee must not replace it.

Describing Abdulmalik Al-Houthi as “a man of peace”, the sources added that the Houthi field leader harshly criticized members of the former committee over allegedly being incredulous and not fulfilling their promises.

Aidarous Al-Naqeeb, member of the former mediation committee, expressed that the committee stopped functioning before Ramadan because its members became extremely busy with other duties. Only three members remained, who could do nothing to calm the inflaming situation in Sa'ada.

In a statement to Al-Sahwa.net, Al-Naqeeb expressed his desire that the newly formed committee will succeed in its conciliation efforts and benefit from the former committee's experiences.

Concerning the religious celebrations by the Shiite and Zaidi sects on the day of Ghadir, the occasion appeared to have a totally different color this year in the war-ravaged governorate that has come under fighting since June 2004.

Media sources said that the provincial capital of Sa'ada and all its districts witnessed unprecedented celebrations on the religious occasion Wednesday evening, featuring the use of firecrackers, firing in the air and setting fires on mountaintops, despite government fliers warning citizens against joining in the event.

One Sa'ada inhabitant attributed the excessive celebrations to citizens' strong desire, after authorities prevented them from marking the occasion since the first Sa'ada war broke out in June 2004.

Islamic Shiite and Zaidi sects in Yemen usually mark Ghadir Day on 18 Dhu'l Hijjah (Islamic Calendar). The occasion marks the day when the prophet Mohammed supposedly authorized Ali Bin Abi Talib as ruler for the Muslims in the area of Ghadir Khumm as he was returning from his last pilgrimage before his death.

In Sana'a, a group of policemen severely beat and insulted Zaidi cleric Mohammed Muftah in front of his wife and children as he was returning from Ghadir Day celebrations organized in Bani Heshaish, northeast of Sana'a, last Thursday. The police took Muftah to a security prison, where he is presently jailed.

In a statement distributed to different media outlets, the human rights organization Change condemned the assault on the Zaidi cleric and expressed concern about such malpractices the government exercises against its citizens. It held the government accountable for any consequences of the unjustified attack, saying that such oppressive acts contravene the constitution and law that ensure citizens the right to exercise religious rituals freely.

The organization appealed to local and international civil and human rights groups and organizations to express solidarity with the victim and condemn the authorities' arbitrary conduct.
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