Warnings from new fighting after rebels call for Jihad against government

By Nasser Arrabyee/23/04/2010


The Yemeni government warned Friday from returning to the war in Sa’ada after Al Houthi rebels called for Jihad against the government.
The government said the rebels distributed publications calling for Jihad after they held a meeting in Barat area east of Sa’ada.

“We warn Al Houthi rebels from playing with fire and returning to fighting,” said the government in a statement published the ministry of interior website Friday.

The spokesman for the rebels, Mohammed Abdul Salam, denied the call for Jihad, saying the government wanted only to escape from its commitments.

He demanded the release of 1000 detainees from the prisons of the government. Over the last few weeks, the government had released 300 Al Houthi prisoners but Al Houthi spokesman said those were not members of their armed rebellion movement.
“The government pledged to implement our demands in return for our accepting the six conditions for ending the war,” Abdul Salam told reporters Friday.

“We released all Yemeni and Saudi detainees, we went down from mountains, but the government did not do anything in return.”

To this end, the security sources said that the rebels kidnapped Friday a tribesman called Hammam Daris for suspicions that he was monitoring their movements in Harf Syfyan and reporting to the security and army.

The last few days witnessed exchange of accusations between the two conflicting parties over non-implementation of the six conditions set by the government and accepted by the rebels on February 12th 2010 for ending the 6-year old sporadic war.