Compulsory warrant to arrest 55 leading rebels

By Nasser Arrabyee/18/08/2009

Sana'a- The Yemen General Prosecutor issued Tuesday an order for compulsory arrest of the top leading rebels of Al Houthi in Sa'ada and some other provinces.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Interior asked the General Prosecutor to issue the compulsory order to arrest 55 Al Houthi rebels including the top three leaders.

The Ministry said it asked the prosecutor in an official letter to order the compulsory arrest of 55 men of the "leading rebels, saboteurs and terrorists" in Sa'ada and other provinces.

The rebel leader Abdul Malik Al Houthi, his father Badr Al Deen Al Houthi, and Abdullah Al Ruzami were at the top of the wanted list

"The 55 rebels participated in armed rebellion, and broke the law and order ,kidnapped people , destroyed farms and attacked public and private installations, blocked the roads, attacked check points and security people and obstructed the development projects," said the Ministry in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Al Houthi rebels and government troops have been clashing since early morning Tuesday at the outskirts of Sa'ada city where several people were killed and injured from both sides, sources said.

Al Houthi rebels tried to attack the city from three directions but the troops forced them to retreat, the sources said.

To this end, the confrontations are still going on in Haraf Sufyan areas in the neighboring province of Amran where the rebels try to block the road connecting between the capital Sana'a and Sa'ada. Tens of people most of them from the rebels were killed and injured over the last two days.

In a televised statement, the Ministry of Defense said the army had cleansed several areas in Sa'ada from the rebels and that their end "has become imminent"

The local sources said that tribesmen from Sa'ada and other places of Yemen were participating with the army against the rebels.

On his part, the spokesman of Al Houthi, Mohammed Abdul Salam said Tuesday Al Houthi did not start the war yet.

"The real confrontations did not begin and our military plans are not implemented yet," said Abdul Salam who speaks over mobile phone despite the government's phone disconnections from Sa'ada.