Sa’ada confrontations flare, organizations call for halting war [Archives:2007/1034/Front Page]

Mohammed bin Sallam
SA'ADA, March 18 ) Tribal sources report that government forces have initiated a large-scale offensive upon the main Houthi stronghold in Dhahian district, using all types of weaponry, including fighters.

The confrontations which have been ongoing since Saturday left seven soldiers dead and another 45 injured, while Houthi and civilian losses were unspecified due to the siege laid around the target area.

The same source added that government authorities had amassed large forces over the past two weeks in preparation for the offensive, which is due to be complete by the end of this week, according to promises by high-ranking military leaders.

Security apparatuses arrested a group of Houthi loyalists as they were receiving medicine at a Sana'a medical center for their injuries in the ongoing confrontations with Yemeni army forces.

According to Ray News, six individuals who infiltrated Sana'a seeking treatment after being injured in confrontations with armed forces in Sa'ada were arrested earlier this week, together with numerous others accompanying them.

Five soldiers kidnapped

The Islah Party-affiliated Al-Sahwa.net reported that Houthi loyalists kidnapped five soldiers as they headed from Sa'ada to Dhahian district onboard a microbus.

The site added that the five were kidnapped in Al-Sadek area after Houthis established a checkpoint on Dhahian road as their bus was passing through the area carrying both civilians and soldiers in civilian clothing. Houthis seized the five soldiers after forcing all of the travelers to show their IDs.

Mosque preacher arrested

In related news, security personnel arrested Al-Rawdha Great Mosque preacher Mohammed Al-Siraji last Thursday with no justification other than suspected Houthi links.

Al-Siraji, a copy editor for Al-Haq Party's Al-Ummah newspaper, is a young Zaidi scholar who enjoys widespread respect and recognition among Al-Rawdha city locals, who chose him as preacher for their mosque to replace scholar Mohammed Muftah, whom authorities arrested during the first Sa'ada war in 2004.

Aleshteraki.net reported that a group affiliated with Yemeni intelligence arrested Al-Siraji at his home, which is located in the same zone as Iman University.

Al-Siraji's arrest comes within a context of arrests, which have included numerous political activists from Al-Haq, the Yemeni Socialist Party and the Public Forces Union, over the ongoing Sa'ada war between the Yemeni army and Houthi loyalists.

Organizations seek to halt war

Under the theme, “Together Against War,” civil society organizations held a symposium Sunday at the headquarters of the Media Women's Forum, stressing the importance of consolidating political, social, economic and cultural efforts to halt the war in Sa'ada and deal with its consequences.

“We, as human rights organizations, see that war damages the human rights situation in Yemen in all respects: political, social, cultural and economic,” renowned civil society and human rights activist Mohammed Naji Alaw noted.

Speaking in the name of such organizations, Alaw added that the war is accompanied by political congestion and destruction of infrastructure, together with bloodshed and draining resources, thus crippling plans and development programs.

“Further, it has led citizens to chase after sectarianism and religious conflicts, something we thought Yemen was past, following the eruption of the Yemeni Revolution,” he noted.

He continued, saying, “Constitutional legitimacy authorities should bear in mind that they work under the umbrella of Yemeni law and the Constitution, which regulate the extent of using power on the part of those in charge of enforcing the law. The security authority should respect the legal and constitutional rights of those arrested and should be referred to judiciary.”

Alaw maintains that security authorities shouldn't use kidnapping and secret confinement of detainees, whom he noted should receive a fair trail before a natural judge, not before exceptional courts.

Foreign sympathy for Houthis

Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Abu Baker Al-Qirbi pointed out that his recent visit to Iran had clarified the misunderstanding for Iranians, as he assured them that the current war in Sa'ada is not between Sunnis and Shi'ites.

Al-Qirbi added that Houthis, who are leading the insurrection in Sa'ada, are claiming to be Shi'ite in order to attract Iran's attention and sympathy, further asserting that Houthis are receiving funding from some Arab nations.

The minister told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Houthi loyalists are receiving financial and spiritual support from Arab Shi'ite institutions; however, he denied linking them to Hezbollah.

Al-Qirbi further indicated that Libya sympathizes with Houthis in Sa'ada. “Yahya Al-Houthi's visits to Libya and his meetings with public leaders there indicate that they sympathize with Houthis,” he added.
——
[archive-e:1034-v:14-y:2007-d:2007-03-19-p:front]