No option for the rebels but to abide by the conditions, top defense panel

By Nasser Arrabyee/28/09/2009

The Yemen Supreme Defense Council said Al Houthi rebels have no option but to abide by the conditions set by the government for stopping the war on them in Sa'ada north of the country.

"The rebels have no option but to abide by the conditions of the government for stopping the war and saving the blood," said a statement issued by the council late Monday after a meeting chaired by President Ali Abdullah Saleh .

The meeting brought together senior officials of the State and the military and security commanders.

Meanwhile, five Al Houthi rebels were killed and several others injured when a group of them tried to attack the republican place in Sa'ada city, said a senior security official late Monday.

The Deputy Minister of Interior, Mohammed Abdullah Al Kawsi, said a counter-terrorism unit drove back the Al Houthi attackers and started an immediate combing operation in the areas where they may hide.

The security official who has been supervising special security operations inside and around the city of Sa'ada from the beginning of the war, said the repeated and suicide attacks nearby the republican palace is a sign of their being desperate.

"Repeating such failed and suicide attacks on the Palace reflects their deteriorating status and breakdown," said Al Kawsi. The official made it clear that the number of the rebels who were arrested in the city of Sa'ada from the beginning of confrontations until Monday, rose to 127.