Al Houthi rebels must start implementing the conditions for ending the war, official
By Nasser Arrabyee/02/01/2010
A senior official of the Yemen ruling party said the military operations against Al Houthi rebels would only stop after the rebels start implementing the six conditions set by the government.
The rebels must not deal as a group independent from the Yemeni state, said Tarek Al Shami, the spokesman of the ruling party, on Tuesday commenting on a new announcement by the rebels to accept all conditions including not to attacking Saudi Arabia.
"The rebels must realize that they are Yemeni citizens, and they must deal within the framework of the State not as an independent group," Al Shami said.
Al Houthi rebels said Tuesday in a new statement sent through emails, he would swap the "prisoners" with Saudi Arabia, while the Yemeni government demands them to hand over the "kidnapped" Yemeni and Saudi people.
"If there is a willingness to have peace, this issue can be solved through an exchange of prisoners," said the rebels in their statement.
They also said their announcement of withdrawal from Saudi territories last week was a signal that they would not like to attack the Saudis any more.
"As long as no one attacks us, we would not target any party," the rebels said in the statement.
These statements from both sides come while the battles on the ground intensify day by day as the Yemeni army try to have the upper hand over the exhausted rebels.
The dispute now between the rebels and the army is over who will start to implement the conditions of ending the war which include the rebels going down from the mountains and handing over the weapons.
Clashes between the rebels and the Saudi forces are continuing despite Al Houthi's announcement of withdrawal and the Saudi's announcement ending the war with the rebels, or infiltrators as they are called by the Saudis.
"The rebels should withdraw the snipers from the Saudi borders and open roads and remove mines, before we start the next step which is about the mechanisms of implementing the whole conditions," Al Shami said.
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Monday, 1 February 2010
Military commander survives assassination attempt by Al Houthi rebels
By Nasser Arrabyee/01/02/2010
A senior military commander was seriously injured in an ambush made by Al Houthi rebels in the areas around the city of Sa'ada , local sources said Monday.
Salem Al Wahaishi, commander of the brigade 103, who is also working as the deputy governor of Sa'ada, was seriously injured when Al Houthi rebels tried to kill him in an ambush in Al Okab area close to Sa'ada city late this after noon, the sources said.
Al Wahiashi, who was injured with a bullet in the neck, was taken on board of a helicopter to the capital Sana'a for treatments, the sources added.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni fighter jets have been bombing the strongholds of the rebels in Sa'ada since earlier this week when the rebels announced they would accept only five conditions of the government's six conditions if the military operations stop. \the conditions include not attacking Saudi Arabia and going down from the mountains and handing over the weapons.
The government rejected their acceptance describing it as shiftiness for gaining the time and regrouping themselves after painful strikes losses inflicted on them.
They rebels ignored completely the conditions of not attacking the territories of Saudi Arabia , in a way which angered the Yemeni government.
The military sources said Monday the air strikes destroyed the hide out the field leader Fulaitah in Bani Muath where also weapons' stores were destroyed.
Al Houthi rebels on their part said, the Saudi fighter jets launched 9 air strikes on border areas where his fighters are still fighting the Saudi army such as Al Husama, Shada , Al Malahaidh. The rebels also said in a statement sent through emails, that 820 Saudi missiles were fired Monday on those areas, despite the fact that both Saudi Arabia announced last week that it had driven out the rebels from its territories and the war with them had ended.
The rebels at the time also said that they had withdrawn from the Saudi territories.
A senior military commander was seriously injured in an ambush made by Al Houthi rebels in the areas around the city of Sa'ada , local sources said Monday.
Salem Al Wahaishi, commander of the brigade 103, who is also working as the deputy governor of Sa'ada, was seriously injured when Al Houthi rebels tried to kill him in an ambush in Al Okab area close to Sa'ada city late this after noon, the sources said.
Al Wahiashi, who was injured with a bullet in the neck, was taken on board of a helicopter to the capital Sana'a for treatments, the sources added.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni fighter jets have been bombing the strongholds of the rebels in Sa'ada since earlier this week when the rebels announced they would accept only five conditions of the government's six conditions if the military operations stop. \the conditions include not attacking Saudi Arabia and going down from the mountains and handing over the weapons.
The government rejected their acceptance describing it as shiftiness for gaining the time and regrouping themselves after painful strikes losses inflicted on them.
They rebels ignored completely the conditions of not attacking the territories of Saudi Arabia , in a way which angered the Yemeni government.
The military sources said Monday the air strikes destroyed the hide out the field leader Fulaitah in Bani Muath where also weapons' stores were destroyed.
Al Houthi rebels on their part said, the Saudi fighter jets launched 9 air strikes on border areas where his fighters are still fighting the Saudi army such as Al Husama, Shada , Al Malahaidh. The rebels also said in a statement sent through emails, that 820 Saudi missiles were fired Monday on those areas, despite the fact that both Saudi Arabia announced last week that it had driven out the rebels from its territories and the war with them had ended.
The rebels at the time also said that they had withdrawn from the Saudi territories.
Cleric in Yemen Admits Meeting Airliner Plot Suspect, Journalist Says
By ROBERT F. WORTH 01/02/2010 New York Times
SANA, Yemen — Anwar al-Awlaki, the fugitive American-born cleric accused of terrorist ties, acknowledged for the first time that he met with the Nigerian suspect in the Dec. 25 airliner bomb plot, though he denied any role in the attack, according to a Yemeni journalist who said he met with him.
Anwar al-Awlaki, the fugitive American-born cleric accused of terrorist ties, in 2008.
Mr. Awlaki said he had met and spoken with the Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, in Yemen last fall, according to the journalist, Abdulelah Hider Sha’ea, who played a digital recording of the cleric’s comments for this reporter.
Although the authenticity of the tape from an interview last week could not be independently verified, the voice resembled that on other recordings of Mr. Awlaki.
“Umar Farouk is one of my students; I had communications with him,” Mr. Awlaki can be heard saying on the recording. “And I support what he did, as America supports Israel’s killing of Palestinians, and its killing of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Previously, Yemeni officials have said that Mr. Awlaki probably met with Mr. Abdulmutallab, but they have offered no evidence.
Al Qaeda’s Arabian Peninsula branch has claimed responsibility for planning the Dec. 25 bombing attempt, in which Mr. Abdulmutallab tried unsuccessfully to bomb an American airliner as it was approaching Detroit, using explosives he had hidden in his underwear.
Mr. Awlaki, 38, said on the recording that he had no part in the planning or execution of the bomb plot. He did not say whether he had advance knowledge of it. “I did not tell him to do this operation, but I support it,” Mr. Awlaki said on the tape, adding that he was proud of Mr. Abdulmutallab.
Mr. Sha’ea writes for a number of publications, including aljazeera.net, and he is a former researcher for the Saba Center for Strategic Studies here. He is the only reporter to have met with the leaders of Al Qaeda’s Arabian branch. Last year, after he interviewed them, the group posted photographs of him with the group’s leader, Nasser al-Wuhayshi.
On the recent tape, Mr. Awlaki exhorted Yemen’s conservative religious scholars — who recently issued an edict warning against further American interference in Yemen — to go further and call for the killing of American military or intelligence officials who assist Yemen’s counterterrorism program. The United States has stepped up its military assistance to Yemen in the past year to counter Al Qaeda’s growing presence here.
Mr. Awlaki’s new call to kill American officials here illustrated once again his radicalism, which has led counterterrorism officials to watch him closely for at least a decade. Born in New Mexico, Mr. Awlaki had contacts with three of the Sept. 11 hijackers at mosques where he worked in San Diego and Falls Church, Va. His eloquent defenses of violent jihad in sermons and on the Internet are widely believed to have radicalized many young Muslims.
Mr. Awlaki also exchanged e-mail messages with Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the American Army psychiatrist who faces murder charges in the shooting deaths of 13 people at Fort Hood, Tex., in November. After those killings, Mr. Awlaki — who left the United States in 2002 — praised Major Hasan as a hero, saying, “Working in the American military to fight Muslims is a betrayal of Islam.”
The Yemeni authorities have been seeking Mr. Awlaki, who was imprisoned for 18 months after his return to Yemen. He is now under the protection of his powerful tribe in remote Shabwa Province, where Mr. Sha’ea said he interviewed him last week. Mr. Awlaki’s personal popularity — and the resonance of his anti-American message — has complicated the task of the government, which has always had limited control over Yemen’s remoter areas.
Yemeni forces carried out an airstrike with American help on a gathering of Qaeda leaders where they believed Mr. Awlaki was present on Dec. 24. But the leaders apparently escaped, and Mr. Awlaki, who does not claim to be a Qaeda member, was not at the site, according to people who know him.
Since then, Yemeni officials have said they are pressuring Mr. Awlaki’s tribe to turn him over. But Mr. Sha’ea said Mr. Awlaki told him that this was not true, and that his tribe was not aware of any negotiations or efforts to detain him.
SANA, Yemen — Anwar al-Awlaki, the fugitive American-born cleric accused of terrorist ties, acknowledged for the first time that he met with the Nigerian suspect in the Dec. 25 airliner bomb plot, though he denied any role in the attack, according to a Yemeni journalist who said he met with him.
Anwar al-Awlaki, the fugitive American-born cleric accused of terrorist ties, in 2008.
Mr. Awlaki said he had met and spoken with the Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, in Yemen last fall, according to the journalist, Abdulelah Hider Sha’ea, who played a digital recording of the cleric’s comments for this reporter.
Although the authenticity of the tape from an interview last week could not be independently verified, the voice resembled that on other recordings of Mr. Awlaki.
“Umar Farouk is one of my students; I had communications with him,” Mr. Awlaki can be heard saying on the recording. “And I support what he did, as America supports Israel’s killing of Palestinians, and its killing of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Previously, Yemeni officials have said that Mr. Awlaki probably met with Mr. Abdulmutallab, but they have offered no evidence.
Al Qaeda’s Arabian Peninsula branch has claimed responsibility for planning the Dec. 25 bombing attempt, in which Mr. Abdulmutallab tried unsuccessfully to bomb an American airliner as it was approaching Detroit, using explosives he had hidden in his underwear.
Mr. Awlaki, 38, said on the recording that he had no part in the planning or execution of the bomb plot. He did not say whether he had advance knowledge of it. “I did not tell him to do this operation, but I support it,” Mr. Awlaki said on the tape, adding that he was proud of Mr. Abdulmutallab.
Mr. Sha’ea writes for a number of publications, including aljazeera.net, and he is a former researcher for the Saba Center for Strategic Studies here. He is the only reporter to have met with the leaders of Al Qaeda’s Arabian branch. Last year, after he interviewed them, the group posted photographs of him with the group’s leader, Nasser al-Wuhayshi.
On the recent tape, Mr. Awlaki exhorted Yemen’s conservative religious scholars — who recently issued an edict warning against further American interference in Yemen — to go further and call for the killing of American military or intelligence officials who assist Yemen’s counterterrorism program. The United States has stepped up its military assistance to Yemen in the past year to counter Al Qaeda’s growing presence here.
Mr. Awlaki’s new call to kill American officials here illustrated once again his radicalism, which has led counterterrorism officials to watch him closely for at least a decade. Born in New Mexico, Mr. Awlaki had contacts with three of the Sept. 11 hijackers at mosques where he worked in San Diego and Falls Church, Va. His eloquent defenses of violent jihad in sermons and on the Internet are widely believed to have radicalized many young Muslims.
Mr. Awlaki also exchanged e-mail messages with Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the American Army psychiatrist who faces murder charges in the shooting deaths of 13 people at Fort Hood, Tex., in November. After those killings, Mr. Awlaki — who left the United States in 2002 — praised Major Hasan as a hero, saying, “Working in the American military to fight Muslims is a betrayal of Islam.”
The Yemeni authorities have been seeking Mr. Awlaki, who was imprisoned for 18 months after his return to Yemen. He is now under the protection of his powerful tribe in remote Shabwa Province, where Mr. Sha’ea said he interviewed him last week. Mr. Awlaki’s personal popularity — and the resonance of his anti-American message — has complicated the task of the government, which has always had limited control over Yemen’s remoter areas.
Yemeni forces carried out an airstrike with American help on a gathering of Qaeda leaders where they believed Mr. Awlaki was present on Dec. 24. But the leaders apparently escaped, and Mr. Awlaki, who does not claim to be a Qaeda member, was not at the site, according to people who know him.
Since then, Yemeni officials have said they are pressuring Mr. Awlaki’s tribe to turn him over. But Mr. Sha’ea said Mr. Awlaki told him that this was not true, and that his tribe was not aware of any negotiations or efforts to detain him.
Sunday, 31 January 2010
To end the war, Al Houthi must first start implementing the government's conditions, defense panel
By Nasser Arrabyee/31/01/2010
The Yemen's supreme defense council said Sunday the military operations against Al Houthi rebels will stop if the rebels start to implement the six conditions set by the government at the beginning of the war in August last year.
This came after Al Houthi rebels said they would accept five conditions if military operations stop. The rebels ignored the sixth condition of not to attack Saudi Arabia.
If Al Houthi rebels abide by starting the implementation of the six conditions set by the government for ceasefire including not attacking the Saudi territories and handing over the Yemeni and Saudi kidnapped people without delay, then the government would not mind stopping the military operations, said a statement issued after the senior military and security officials met Sunday.
In addition to the condition of not attacking the Saudi territories, the Yemeni government previously set five other conditions to end the war, which included the Al Houthi rebels going down from the mountains and handing over the weapons.
Earlier in the day, the deputy governor of Sa'ada Mohammed Al Emad, said the rebels' announcement to accept the government's conditions to end the war in Sa'ada is not more than a new shiftiness to rescue themselves from an imminent defeat.
"The successive defeats and breakdowns inflicted on the rebels made them resort to such evasions only to gain time and try to regroup their scattered elements as they did previous rounds," said Mohammed Al Emad, deputy governor of Sa'ada, in a statement published by the state0run media.
Al Houthi rebels earlier said, "Since we are so keen on ending this bloodshed and in order to avoid the catastrophic situation that the country is heading toward and in order to end the acts of genocide against civilians, we renew for the fourth time what we previously announced, our acceptance of the five points that the Yemeni government asked for, after they end the aggression."
Meanwhile, battles between Al Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government troops are continuing, after the Saudi army had driven out the rebels who occupied Saudi territories at Yemeni Saudi borders last November.
About 20 rebels including the filed leader Kayed Abu Malik were killed in Al Safiyah area in Sa'ada, military and local sources said Sunday.
The rebels on their part, attacked a refugee camp near by the hospital of Al Salam in Sa'ada, killing two children and injuring three other people, eyewitnesses said.
The Yemen's supreme defense council said Sunday the military operations against Al Houthi rebels will stop if the rebels start to implement the six conditions set by the government at the beginning of the war in August last year.
This came after Al Houthi rebels said they would accept five conditions if military operations stop. The rebels ignored the sixth condition of not to attack Saudi Arabia.
If Al Houthi rebels abide by starting the implementation of the six conditions set by the government for ceasefire including not attacking the Saudi territories and handing over the Yemeni and Saudi kidnapped people without delay, then the government would not mind stopping the military operations, said a statement issued after the senior military and security officials met Sunday.
In addition to the condition of not attacking the Saudi territories, the Yemeni government previously set five other conditions to end the war, which included the Al Houthi rebels going down from the mountains and handing over the weapons.
Earlier in the day, the deputy governor of Sa'ada Mohammed Al Emad, said the rebels' announcement to accept the government's conditions to end the war in Sa'ada is not more than a new shiftiness to rescue themselves from an imminent defeat.
"The successive defeats and breakdowns inflicted on the rebels made them resort to such evasions only to gain time and try to regroup their scattered elements as they did previous rounds," said Mohammed Al Emad, deputy governor of Sa'ada, in a statement published by the state0run media.
Al Houthi rebels earlier said, "Since we are so keen on ending this bloodshed and in order to avoid the catastrophic situation that the country is heading toward and in order to end the acts of genocide against civilians, we renew for the fourth time what we previously announced, our acceptance of the five points that the Yemeni government asked for, after they end the aggression."
Meanwhile, battles between Al Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government troops are continuing, after the Saudi army had driven out the rebels who occupied Saudi territories at Yemeni Saudi borders last November.
About 20 rebels including the filed leader Kayed Abu Malik were killed in Al Safiyah area in Sa'ada, military and local sources said Sunday.
The rebels on their part, attacked a refugee camp near by the hospital of Al Salam in Sa'ada, killing two children and injuring three other people, eyewitnesses said.
Al Houthi is evading to gain time
By Nasser Arrabyee/31/01/2010
The rebels' announcement to accept the government's conditions to end the war in Sa'ada is not more than a new shiftiness to rescue themselves from an imminent defeat, said an official Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, the rebels said in an internet statement they would accept all conditions of the government but only if the military operations stopped.
"The successive defeats and breakdowns inflicted on the rebels made them resort to such evasions only to gain time and try to regroup their scattered elements as they did previous rounds," said Mohammed Al Emad, deputy governor of Sa'ada, in a statement published by the state0run media.
Al Houthi rebels earlier said,"Since we are so keen on ending this bloodshed and in order to avoid the catastrophic situation that the country is heading toward and in order to end the acts of genocide against civilians, we renew for the fourth time what we previously announced, our acceptance of the five points that the Yemeni government asked for, after they end the aggression."
Meanwhile, battles between Al Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government troops are continuing, after the Saudi army had driven out the rebels who occupied Saudi territories at Yemeni Saudi borders last November.
About 20 rebels including the filed leader Kayed Abu Malik were killed in Al Safiyah area in Sa'ada, military and local sources said Sunday.
The rebels on their part, attacked a refugee camp near by the hospital of Al Salam in Sa'ada, killing two children and injuring three other people, eyewitnesses said.
The rebels' announcement to accept the government's conditions to end the war in Sa'ada is not more than a new shiftiness to rescue themselves from an imminent defeat, said an official Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, the rebels said in an internet statement they would accept all conditions of the government but only if the military operations stopped.
"The successive defeats and breakdowns inflicted on the rebels made them resort to such evasions only to gain time and try to regroup their scattered elements as they did previous rounds," said Mohammed Al Emad, deputy governor of Sa'ada, in a statement published by the state0run media.
Al Houthi rebels earlier said,"Since we are so keen on ending this bloodshed and in order to avoid the catastrophic situation that the country is heading toward and in order to end the acts of genocide against civilians, we renew for the fourth time what we previously announced, our acceptance of the five points that the Yemeni government asked for, after they end the aggression."
Meanwhile, battles between Al Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government troops are continuing, after the Saudi army had driven out the rebels who occupied Saudi territories at Yemeni Saudi borders last November.
About 20 rebels including the filed leader Kayed Abu Malik were killed in Al Safiyah area in Sa'ada, military and local sources said Sunday.
The rebels on their part, attacked a refugee camp near by the hospital of Al Salam in Sa'ada, killing two children and injuring three other people, eyewitnesses said.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Tribes, CSOs refuse foreign intervention in Yemen
Ashwaq Arrabyee 26/01/2010
About 1,000 tribal sheikhs from various Yemeni tribes declared their rejection for any foreign intervention in Yemen.
"We refuse any foreign intervention in Yemen internal affairs; the sovereignty and independence of the country must be respected," the tribal sheikhs said in a statement at the end of their meeting on the current challenges in Yemen on Tuesday.
They denounced the sabotage and terrorist acts used as a pretext for foreign intervention in the internal affair of Yemen under the name of "Combating terrorism", calling on all tribes and political powers to put aside their differences for facing all attempts to split the country and destabilize security.
In the meeting held before London Conference, they condemned media attempts to make a link between tribes and terrorism, stressing that the tribes support the security, stability and social peace.
On their part, the civil society organizations confirmed in a statement their refusal for foreign military intervention as a method to combat terrorism in Yemen.
"Such military intervention will worsen the unstable conditions and turn country into a field for regional and international conflicts," the Civil Society organization said in a concluding statement for the Civil Society Parallel Forum to the London Conference held on Sunday.
The statement called on holding a national dialogue to tackle the economic, political, social and security crises in Yemen.
"'Yemen has serious problems; the state's institutions are weak, justice is absent, poverty is highly spread, and it has a serious challenge of unemployment among its young people," the statement said. 'All this constitutes a breeding ground for terrorism."
The statement called on the donor countries to support development process in Yemen, democracy, freedom and to protect human rights.
About 1,000 tribal sheikhs from various Yemeni tribes declared their rejection for any foreign intervention in Yemen.
"We refuse any foreign intervention in Yemen internal affairs; the sovereignty and independence of the country must be respected," the tribal sheikhs said in a statement at the end of their meeting on the current challenges in Yemen on Tuesday.
They denounced the sabotage and terrorist acts used as a pretext for foreign intervention in the internal affair of Yemen under the name of "Combating terrorism", calling on all tribes and political powers to put aside their differences for facing all attempts to split the country and destabilize security.
In the meeting held before London Conference, they condemned media attempts to make a link between tribes and terrorism, stressing that the tribes support the security, stability and social peace.
On their part, the civil society organizations confirmed in a statement their refusal for foreign military intervention as a method to combat terrorism in Yemen.
"Such military intervention will worsen the unstable conditions and turn country into a field for regional and international conflicts," the Civil Society organization said in a concluding statement for the Civil Society Parallel Forum to the London Conference held on Sunday.
The statement called on holding a national dialogue to tackle the economic, political, social and security crises in Yemen.
"'Yemen has serious problems; the state's institutions are weak, justice is absent, poverty is highly spread, and it has a serious challenge of unemployment among its young people," the statement said. 'All this constitutes a breeding ground for terrorism."
The statement called on the donor countries to support development process in Yemen, democracy, freedom and to protect human rights.
Monday, 25 January 2010
Al Houthi announces withdrawal from Saudi territory
Ashwaq Arrabyee 25/01/2010
The leader of Houthi rebels in Sa'ada declared withdrawal from all Saudi areas they had over controlled since the beginning of fighting with Saudi troops in November.
Abdul Malik Al Houthi, the leader of rebels, said, "we announce withdraw from all Saudi areas."
"The withdrawal is s real chance for peace and the Saudis have to value this initiative," he said in audio recording distributed to media on Monday.
He threatened of starting an open war against Saudi Arabia in case it continued its attacks against Al Houthis.
Local sources said, "the announcement of withdrawal of Al Houthis from all Saudi territory comes after an agreement between the Yemeni government and the Saudi government and Al Houthi rebels on the basis that Al Houthis had committed to the five conditions set by the government for stopping the war."
The leader of Houthi rebels in Sa'ada declared withdrawal from all Saudi areas they had over controlled since the beginning of fighting with Saudi troops in November.
Abdul Malik Al Houthi, the leader of rebels, said, "we announce withdraw from all Saudi areas."
"The withdrawal is s real chance for peace and the Saudis have to value this initiative," he said in audio recording distributed to media on Monday.
He threatened of starting an open war against Saudi Arabia in case it continued its attacks against Al Houthis.
Local sources said, "the announcement of withdrawal of Al Houthis from all Saudi territory comes after an agreement between the Yemeni government and the Saudi government and Al Houthi rebels on the basis that Al Houthis had committed to the five conditions set by the government for stopping the war."
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