Conflicting reports asGuerilla raids increase in Sa’ada [Archives:2005/831/Front Page]

Mohammed bin Sallam
Confrontations are continuing between the government's forces and Hussein al-Houthi's “Believing Youth” militias, with government forces mounting a successful siege in Ruzam, where al-Houthi's father Badr al-Din al-Houthi, is living, well-informed sources told the Yemen Times.

Officials are deliberately withholding information surrounding the number of casualties resulting from the bloody clashes, but tribal sources say as many as 200 civilians may have been killed or injured.

Medical sources at al-Salam Hospital in Sa'adah, say that many dead government soldiers have been received by the hospital since the fighting erupted in al-Talh Market on March 19, 2005.

Local sources in al-Buq'a district, 170 kms north of Sana'a reported that clashes last Wednesday between al-Houthi's followers and government forces, displaced residents in the areas of Nashur and Ruzamat, where fighting has been fierce.

Other areas affected by the insurgency suffered similar displacement as battles intensified between the two sides. Planes and artilleries bombarded areas thought to be hideouts of Houthi's followers. According to Sa'adah residents, hundreds of families are seeking safe haven elsewhere.

One local resident told the Yemen Times by telephone that they do not know the real reasons behind the campaign. “We were surprised at the attacks, especially because there are no reasons or claims behind the bombardment,” he said. There was a truce between the government and the insurgents led by Abdullah al-Ruzami who had traveled to Sana'a and met the President. The insurgents accuse the military in Sa'adah for breaching the agreement.

The source mentioned the incident that occurred two weeks ago at the Arms Market where armed men exchanged fire with the security forces resulting in four deaths, one of whom was from Nashour. Arbitration is being used to settle the dispute. Al-Houthi's followers deny the claim that they violated the truce by shooting at some government sites in recent days. They claimed that the government has not complied with the agreement reached with Abdullah al-Ruzami concerning release of prisoners captured during the events in Maran.

A source close to the government said, on condition of anonymity, that Abdullah al-Ruzami pledged at his meeting with the President, and after the intercession of sheikhs Haydar Shawkah and Shaji'a Mohammed Shaji'a, to stay at his home in Sana'a but he returned a few days ago to Sa'adah. The official source said that he is behind the armed groups formed recently in the areas of Aqlah, Muthab, and Al Shafi'ah.

The source said that Scholar Badr al-Din al-Houthi and his son Abdul-Malik went to al-Ruzami's house, which was surrounded by approximately two thousand armed tribesmen, who took positions in nearby mountains.

Some analysts think that the cause behind the crisis is that members of the Islah party within the so-called the extremist Salafi lobby, started to feel that the President and the General People's Congress (GPC) were trying to confront them especially in the wake of recent demonstrations in Taiz and other cities. These analysts think that the Salafi lobby sparked the Sa'adah crisis as a diversionary tactic.

The President has reiterated the importance of security and stability and has undertaken to solve the problem of detainees and other issues in cooperation with scholars. It appears that the President's message has irritated the Salafi forces and they have inflamed the situation in an attempt to restore the President into their line against Zaidism.

Despite the President's promise, members of al-Houthi's insurgency are still being detained. Further, the Governor remains in power despite his being behind the clashes between the State and the citizens. Another problem lies in the oppressive nature of the military forces active in Sa'adah.

Many people in Sa'adah have been fired from their jobs because of the insurgency and have not been reinstated. Some of them have been moved to distant areas and the President's directives for compensation have not been implemented.

In his turn, Sheik Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar, Parliament Speaker, invited the leaders of political parties, political forces, several religious figures, and tribal Sheiks to his house on April 5 to discuss what should be done to stop the confrontations in Sa'adah.

The meeting decided that Sheikh Abdullah would contact President Saleh to encourage mediation of the tribes and religious leaders.

The meeting called for strikes and sit-ins by all civil society and human rights organizations if the fighting continues.

Finally, al-Houthi's father spent months suffering in Sana'a while the promises made to him were unfulfilled. However, another statement by sources close to the scholar said, “Scholar Badr al-Din al-Houthi had left Sana'a for Nashour, in the province of Sa'adah when living became hard for him. He had spent over two months in Sana'a upon the request of mediators who sought to bring him to Sana'a. He did not meet the President as it was expected.”

An official source announced that Badr al-Din al-Houthi left Sana'a suddenly although the government provided him with promises of safety. He violated all pledges he made to the State and moved back to Nushour Valley where he mustered fighters and incited them to attack police stations and checkpoints across Sa'adah province in an attempt to spark a new insurgency.

Badr al-Din al-Houthi said in a press interview with al-Wasat weekly at the beginning of this month, shortly before his abrupt return to Sa'adah, that he came to Sana'a two months ago in compliance with the President's request.

Al-Houthi called, through the newspaper, on the President to keep his word by releasing prisoners and stopping to pursue the followers of Hussein al-Houthi.

He also denied that his son claimed to be the Imam. “He was defending Islam from the schemes of America.” Badr al-Din al-Houthi confirmed that he was not neutral during the war. “My son was right. He was the reference of the Believing Youth and the fighting was to protect Islam.”

Al-Houthi revealed his travel to Iran in 1993 and meeting with the Iranian President. However, he denied that he received support from Iran. Concerning his views on democracy, he said that he is supporting “justice” and “know[s] nothing but this name.”

Al-Houthi blamed the Zaidi clerics who said his son was deviant and stray. “They are the followers of the State and fear its might.” He questioned the killing of his son and considered that the suffering of the Zaidi sect will harden it because the sect's followers are “strong men and champions.”

In this interview Al-Houthi, provided facts that his son did not receive any money from the President. He announced his readiness to return any money proven to have been given to his son. He agreed to meet the President when necessary and refused to say whether the President is legitimate or not.

The people of Hamdan, Sa'adah province have sent a message through the media, appealing to Yemeni and international public opinion as well as parties, political organizations and human rights watchdogs to break their silence and save the remainder of women, children and old men from the harsh war waged by the government's air and land forces.
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