Fighting continued despite ceasefire

By Nasser Arrabyee 19/09/2009


AlMazrak refugee camp, west of Saada, where I wrote the story: Fighting continued Saturday in the north of Yemen despite a conditional ceasefire declared by the government.

Military officials said that Al Houthi rebels did not comply with the ceasefire and continued attacking the troops in the three main front lines of the 39-day-old fighting.

“The saboteurs and terrorists did not comply with the ceasefire declared this morning and continued their attacks on our troops,” military sources said.

Local sources in Harf Sufyan said that the troops are advancing towards Al Amar area which is close to city of Saada.

Earlier in the day, the government declared a ceasefire in fighting with Al Houthi rebels in north-western areas in order to secure the passage of humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of people.

The truce, which begins at midnight and would last for the Musilims’ Eid al- Fetr holiday, was announced in response to appeals from international relief agencies, the official Saba news agency reported

The Defence Ministry said in a statement the ceasefire was conditional on the rebels complying with six terms. It said the rebels should withdraw from areas they control release soldiers they captured during the fighting.

Among the other conditions were the rebels' compliance with the constitution and their surrender of military equipment seized from the army.

The government had also welcomed a call of Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of
Lebanese Hezbollah, for a cease-fire in Saada.

We appreciate Nasrallah's call for a cease-fire to avoid further bloodshed, but this war has been imposed on the government, official statement said.