Politicians warn of internationalizing the situation Sa’ada bloodshed, havoc continue [Archives:2007/1041/Front Page]
By: Mohammed Bin Sallam
SANA'A, April 11 ) Sources in Sa'ada said Wednesday that fierce clashes between Yemeni government forces and Houthi loyalists still are occurring across more than nine districts in Sa'ada governorate, the most prominent of which is in Dhahian.
The Yemeni military has been using artillery and missiles to shell Dhahian and Al-Talh districts and surrounding areas from last Sunday until now, the sources added.
Casualties and military equipment losses on both sides haven't been identified due to fierce clashes which renewed on Sunday. Such clashes in Dhahian district had calmed down relatively on Friday and Saturday. Yemeni army forces have sustained heavy losses in trying to overpower the district, which has remained under Houthi domination for three weeks.
The same sources reported that MiG-29 fighter planes have been bombarding Al-Jarshah city since Tuesday morning, destroying scores of homes during the attacks on the city, which Houthis controlled on Monday.
Army fighters also bombarded Matrah area, a passage leading to Dhahian city and via which it's believed Houthis receive food supplies. On Saturday, military forces shelled Kattaf and Al-Moqbil too. Additionally, Juma'at Bani Fadhel area witnessed intensified confrontations between Houthis and government forces supported by volunteer tribal groups.
“Fierce confrontations occurred Monday between Houthi followers centralizing on Al-Madorah Mountain in Al-Talh district and government forces, who tried to take control of the mountain. Several were killed and injured on both sides during the battle,” Al-Ayyam daily newspaper reported Wednesday.
“Houthi elements attacked Al-Awbar Mountain, east of Sa'ada city, on which government forces are centralized. The attack continued until midnight. Government forces fought back; however, the results of the counterattacks weren't identified,” the newspaper added.
Additionally, the newspaper stated that casualties among tribesmen and soldiers result from Katyusha missiles, shells and bombardment mistakenly and arbitrarily used by government forces.
Dhahian humanitarian situation worsens
According to media, approximately 25,000 Yemenis are displaced, mostly from Dhahian district, at the Yemeni-Saudi border. Heavy rains have worsened the situation for the displaced families, which live in miserable conditions.
Dhahian locals estimate that Yemeni government forces have destroyed some 1,000 homes and civil facilities over the past three days.
“Diseases such as cholera have begun spreading in areas of Sa'ada governorate, as dead bodies from both the Yemeni army and supporters of Abdulmalik Al-Houthi have remained on the streets for several days as a result of fierce fighting, which has lasted more than three weeks, especially in Dhahian district,” Al-Khaleej newspaper reported Tuesday.
“The district has been rendered a ghost area, as seeing bodies on the street has become familiar in the absence of health teams,” the newspaper quoted local sources as saying.
“The [Yemeni] army is seeking to tighten its grip on Dhahian district and the surrounding areas, sparing no effort in attacking the sites of Houthis, who have become experienced in fighting government forces,” the newspaper added, further wondering whether the new Yemeni government headed by Prime Minister Ali Mujawar will resort to other means to solve the crisis.
Local sources in Sa'ada governorate say it's difficult to determine who controls Dhahian district at this time. “The army could strike the main Houthi strongholds, which allows them [Houthis] to move freely, especially during the daytime, inside Dhahian city. While they can't enter or leave the city, they remain inside it because they control its northern outlet,” the same sources explained.
Volunteer issues
Yemeni Socialist Party news web site Aleshteraki.net reported that large numbers of volunteers who have been fighting alongside the Yemeni government have returned to their areas, refusing to continue fighting because military leaders are delaying paying their salaries and dues, as stipulated in an agreement.
The web site quoted citizens from Amran governorate as saying that more than 200 volunteers returned Monday and Tuesday, refusing to continue fighting Houthis, as well as refusing to surrender their arms.
“A number of returnees complained about military leaders, who are insisting on making volunteer tribesmen fight on the front lines,” the site added.
Press reports mention that during the first Sa'ada war which erupted in 2004, a number of army officers contacted sheikhs and influential figures in various Yemeni governorates, requesting they bring groups of tribesmen to join government forces in the hopes of enrolling them on official army registries.
However, this didn't happen after the war ended. Additionally, it was proven that the salaries of tribesmen who had joined the army but were killed weren't paid to their families because they weren't included on army or martyr registries.
Local media said last week that more than 5,000 tribesmen from Hashid and Harf Sufian tribes were recruited to participate in the Sa'ada fighting. Other information affirms that volunteer fighters include additional tribes from Dhamar, Lahj, Abyan and Sana'a governorates.
According to information coming from the battlefields, most war victims are from volunteer tribesmen, which represents a dangerous development that could expand the Sa'ada war socially. The situation also discloses the disjointedness of the Yemeni army, which is unprepared for any serious challenge, as is the case with the Sa'ada war, according to media sources.
Civil society demands
In a related event, the Civil Society Coalition called on authorities to stop the war in Sa'ada and find peaceful solutions. It also called for disclosing the reasons for and aftermath of the conflict, stressing the importance of “ceasing arbitrary arrests, presenting clear charges against detainees and either trying them fairly or freeing them.”
In a statement, the coalition expressed regret at the absence of a mechanism to observe violations in Sa'ada governorate, which may be massive, as a result of cutting off communications and not allowing rights groups to enter.
“Anyone tackling the issue of the Sa'ada war is subjected to investigation, threats and accusations of betrayal,” the statement read.
The coalition attributes the Sa'ada conflict and other domestic wars to “wrong official polices that don't tackle ways to eliminate the cause of such wars.” The group further denounced the Yemeni government's use of power to solve such a political crisis.
Government and opposition stances
The National Defense Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday, chaired by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, commander in chief of the Yemeni army. The meeting discussed the crisis in Sa'ada governorate, especially as the situation has exceeded the time set by military leaders to end the rebellion, according to a local observer.
Official media reported that the defense council reviewed the results of investigations of and confessions by arrested Houthi loyalists, revealing the reality of their aims, topped by staging a coup against Yemen's republican system and attempting to bring back the Imamate regime.
The official media added that, “The slogan raised by Houthis, 'Death to America! Death to Israel!' is just a pretext to mislead simple people and hide the real and conspired aims they seek to achieve through bearing arms, violating the law and committing crimes against citizens and military personnel.”
In an interview conducted by Al-Wasat weekly newspaper, the head of the Joint Meeting Parties, a coalition of five opposition parties, and Yemeni Socialist Party Secretary-General Yassin Sa'eed Noman asserted, “Yemen's political system creates conditions for coups, not peaceful democratic change.”
Noman warned of turning the Sa'ada situation into a regional case, maintaining that the JMP is ready to contribute to solving the problem and halting the bloodshed. “We're against this bloodshed, which upsets us. On behalf of the JMP, I say, how do they want to solve this problem within a national framework?” he concluded.
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