The Yemeni army storms the old city of Sa'ada

By Nasser Arrabyee/07/12/2009

The Yemeni army stormed the old city of Sa'ada where groups of Al Houthi rebels have been hiding among the local residents since the beginning of war in august 10, said military sources Monday.

The soldiers are chasing the rebels from house to house, as the tanks and artillery pound the houses where the rebels fire at the soldiers, said the military sources who are participating in the attack.

The rebels, who are local residents of the city, were using the majority of the residents as human shields during the last long period.

The government did not take the step of storming the old city of Sa'ada earlier in order not to harm this majority of people who are not with Al Houthi.

The sources said many were killed and injured from both sides in the storming operation, which started early morning Monday.

The raid on the rebels' houses in the old city of Sa'ada came only one day after the rebels said in a statement they would control the who city of Sa'ada very soon.


The army seems to be determined to clean the city of the rebels this time given the big size of the storming operation.



Meanwhile, two field leaders of Al Houthi rebels were killed and six others were arrested in special operations implemented by the government troops in different places of the war-torn Sa'ada, said the Ministry of Defense Monday in a statement .

The terrorist field leaders Ali Ali Al Moayad and Tarek Sajjan were killed in Al Madaka of Shada district west of Sa'ada, said the Ministry's statement.

The two field leaders Muhy Al Deen Yahya Al Ansi and Ali Ahmed Nasser Al Dhafari were among the six field leaders who were arrested in diffirent places in Sa'ada and the neighboring province of Al Jawf.

The field leader Muhy Al Deen Al Ansi was the leader of about 50-70 rebels who escaped from Sa'ada to the nieghbouring Al Jawf province where the local tribesmen imposed a tight blockade on them forcing them to leave Sunday December 6th to an unknown area.

The top leader of the rebels, Abdul Malik Al Houthi said in statements he had ordered the group to go and open a new front against the Saudi forces in Najran, which is close to the far north of Al jawf.

On their part, Al Houthi rebels who face increasingly tightened blockade from the Saudi army in the west and the Yemeni army in the east and south of Sa'ada, intensified their bombardments on the houses of the citizens whom they accuse of cooperating with the army.

The rebels injured seriously three children and two women and an over-aged man when they pounded the two houses of Mabrook Saleh Al Ghulaisi and Hsaasn Ahmed Al Ghanin in the village of Al Bada'a in Harf Sufyan, tribal and military sources said Monday.

The tribal sources identified the victims as the 10-year old boy Ahmed Saleh Al Ghulaisi, the 8-year old girl Rabe'ah Saleh Al Ghulaisi, the 2-year old boy Ghaleb Ahmed, and the two women Khadeeja Abdullah Ghaleb Al Ghanin, and Ferdoos Ghaleb Al Ghanin.

The rebels also killed a man and injured another when opened fire on the citizens in Beer Ghazi area for not fighting with them against the government troops.