Rebels arrested and surrendered in heavy battles

By Nasser Arrabyee 12/09/2009

The Yemen army destroyed several posts and hideouts of Al Houthi rebels inflicting heavy damages on them, military sources said Saturday.

According to a statement issued by the Supreme Security Committee which supervises the war, tens of the rebels were arrested and surrendered after their posts and hideouts were destroyed in Al Malahaid, Sa'ada, and Harf Sufyan, the three main fronts of the 32-day old fighting.

The troops face difficulties heading because of the mines planted by the rebels in the road between Harf Sufyan and Sa'ada where even the humanitarian aids can not be delivered.

The spokesman of Al Houthi rebels, Mohammed Abdul Salam, said, however, that 85 soldiers including high ranking officers were arrested with their weapons after they controlled their post in Al Shukrah in Harf Sufyan.

"Three brigades of the army launched an attack on us in Harf Sufyan, but they were surprised when we turned from defenders into attackers ," Abdul Salam said in statements sent by emails.

The military officials say the intensification of the rebels' attacks over the last two days was a sign that the war will end soon.

Eyewitnesses said late Saturday that aircrafts continued bombing the posts and hideouts of the rebels in Harf Sufyan all the day, and efforts of removing the mines planted by the rebels on the road from Harf Sufyan to Sa'ada are in full swing.

"I saw the fighters bombard the remaining posts and fortifications of the rebels here in this area all the day," said journalist Mahmoud Taha from Al Jabal Al Aswad in Harf Sufyan.

"Also I saw the minesweepers destroying the mines in the town of Harf Sufyan and areas around it."

Meanwhile, five Al Houthi supporters were arrested in the neighbouring province of Hajja while they were trying to smuggle money and fuels for the rebels in Sa'ada, said security sources Saturday.

The five men were described as the "dangerous" elements who raise money and collect equipments and weapons for the rebels.

Investigations are going on with them to know who was behind the support and, then, they will be brought to justice, the sources said.

The sources said the rebel leader Mohammed Abdul Majeed Al Hadi was killed on Saturday in Bakem area north of Saada in clashes with security.

On his part, Abdul Kareem Al Iryani, the political advisor of President Saleh, expected a big defeat for theAl Houthi rebels.

"The horns of the Satan which appeared from the mountains of Marran will be defeated soon by the constitutional legitimacy,” said Al Iryani Friday while attending a Ramadan night.

“They do not have an objective and they can not work politically in the framework of the constitution, so they will yield at the end of the day, and will find themselves even outside the six terms set by the State.”