As Al-Houthi followers resort to guerrilla raidsThe president announces termination of fighting [Archives:2005/833/Front Page]
Mohammed bin Sallam
An official source at the Supreme Security Committee announced Tuesday that confrontations with Badruddin al-Houthi and his followers, started on 6 April were ended.
'Security and army forces are still hunting down Al-Houthi, 86 years, and his followers after they have fled the area to other places,' the source added.
'Though the official statement reported that the operations against Al-Houthi supporters were, there is fighting going on in some of areas. Army troops are destroying tens of houses whose owners deserted them to more secure places or those owned by some of the suspects,' a well-informed source said.
Official sources confirmed that calmness was restored in Sa'ada after army forces imposed its security control over the city. 'Government forces managed the day before yesterday to control over Al-Rizami stronghold, and areas of Khasha'a, Tubab Al-Qawari where Al-Houthi supporters entrenched,' a military commander said.
He indicated that the army troops were having their camps now in the mountainous areas where Al-Houthi supporters used to entrench.
The sources expected that army forces would keep on hunting down the insurgency leadership, especially Al-Houthi, the father, and Abdullah Aydhah Al-Ruzami. They expected that the military operations would not be stopped unless their death was confirmed, as what happened to Hussain Al-Houthi in September 2004.
A pamphlet distributed on Tuesday by residents of Nashoor, Ruzamat, Al-Shafeah and some areas of Sehar and others of Sa'ada, addressed to all state authorities including the parliament speaker and members, Al-Shura Council , the government, Human Rights Minister, NGOs, pressmen, political parties, and all people of Yemen, holding them all responsible. It pointed out that it was their religious, national and brotherly duties and history will ask each one of them about their response to this appeal presented six months ago when the bloody fights which caused more than 65,000 people from Marran, Haydan and other areas of Sa'ada.to be homeless 'The military troops from various forces are attacking people of Nashoor, Hamdan, Al-Ruzamat, and Al-Shafeah. The military operations extended to include innocent people in other areas of Sa'ada such as Bani Mu'ath, Jabal Saber, Rahban, and others, using the different heavy and middle weapons like the air and ground missiles, military tanks, planes, and surface- to-surface missiles. They are besieging those areas from all directions; houses inhabited by elderly people, children and women were demolished and whoever could leave them is now homeless with those injured people without medicine. The locals' corpses have not been buried because people were prevented to enter those areas to bury the dead and treat the wounded for thirteen days. We are appealing again for stopping blood-shedding by the good people in the state the social and political personalities,' the pamphlet added.
'We appeal for treating the injuries and securing the homeless people, releasing the tortured prisoners, and respecting our blood, properties, and rights according to the Islamic rules and articles of the constitution and UN charter on human rights to life and security, treating the injured and burying the dead. Not only that, the human beings have the right to be treated in a humane manner though they are war prisoners instead of killing them, as the troops are now doing in these operations against the defenseless people.
Concluding the pamphlet, they requested the formation of an independent impartial committee in order to investigate into the causes of the war and see who has violated rules of the constitution, law and religion. It should perform some field visits, listening to the sides affected by this war. It will be disclosed that not all people have committed any mistake in this respect and they are following the rules of constitution and law, which insure their right to express their thoughts and views in the light of the beliefs of the Islamic religion.
——
[archive-e:833-v:13-y:2005-d:2005-04-14-p:front]
