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Yemeni army, Shia rebels in fierce fight near border |
AFP/Sanaa
Yemeni armed forces and Zaidi Shia rebels fought a fierce battle yesterday near the border with Saudi Arabia, as the rebels appealed to the Arab League to intervene on their behalf.
“Heavy fighting was taking place in the middle of the day on the Malahidh front after the army took total control of Jabal Khazaen,” in the north of the region, army spokesman Askar Zuail said.
Malahidh, in the west of hilly Saada province, stronghold of the rebellion, has been a key battleground since the army launched its ‘Operation Scorched Earth’ against the rebels on August 11.
The region borders Saudi Arabia, whose forces have been shelling and bombing rebel positions in on Jabal Dukhan mountain since November 4, after rebels killed a border guard and occupied two small villages inside Saudi territory the previous day.
The Yemeni side of 2,000m Jabal Dukhan is within the Malahidh district.
The rebels, also known as Houthis, called for the Arab League to intervene to stop “Saudi aggression” in an open letter to Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa posted on their website yesterday.
The letter denied the rebels are linked to any outside party or entity, a reference to accusations by Yemen that the Houthis are supported by Iran.
The insurgents called on the Arab League “to carry out an on-the-spot investigation” and “to support a national dialogue within an Arab framework between the rebels and the Yemen authorities.”
In a separate statement, rebel leader Yahya Houthi praised Iran for condemning “Saudi aggression” on Yemen, and thanked Iran for its stance, which was “absent from many of our Arab brothers.”
Sources in the Saudi military said yesterday that Zaidis were hiding in some Saudi villages that have been evacuated in Hurrath and Khubah provinces. The Saudi military has shelled some of these areas, military sources said.
UN children’s organisation Unicef said last week that the Saudis had evacuated 240 villages and closed 50 schools as the fighting spilled over the border from Yemen.
The Yemeni defence ministry said yesterday said that the army regained control of several hills in the Gharaz area southeast of Saada and cleared them of landmines.
Three rebels who were trying to infiltrate Saudi Arabia were arrested by the Yemeni army in an operation in Saada, around 240km north of Sanaa, and two were arrested in a separate military operation in Aleb, a frontier post north of Saada, the ministry said on its website.
The Yemeni army spokesman said intermittent “minor clashes” have taken place in Harf Sufian province, adjoining Saada.
Late on Sunday, a Saudi government adviser said the Saudi navy has been closely patrolling the Yemeni port of Midi just south of the Saudi province of Jizan for several days aiming to cut off a key supply route for the rebels.
The adviser also said Saudi forces, which continue to bomb the area near the Saudi-Yemeni border, have captured several “senior” Houthi leaders, but did not identify them.
The Zaidi rebels are alleged to have used Midi to smuggle in weapons and munitions from Eritrea across the Red Sea.
On Saturday, pan-Arab daily Al Hayat quoted a source in the Saudi navy as saying that the kingdom’s forces will continue operations “to protect the area” from Saudi Arabia up to Bab Al Mandeb.
Bab Al Mandab is a strategic area off the far southern coast of Yemen between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Around 150,000 people have fled their homes since the conflict between the government and the Zaidis first broke out in 2004, according to aid organisations. |
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