Yemen war begins

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BBC

[ Yemen war starts when Shias begin protests ]

Friday 25 June 2004

Yemen forces kill 46 militants

Yemeni authorities say they have killed 46 supporters of a dissident Muslim cleric in the north of the country.

An interior ministry statement quoted by the Saba state news agency said the raid targeted anti-government preacher Hussein al-Houthi and his supporters.

Soldiers backed by helicopters laid siege to several guerrilla targets in Saada, 240km (150 miles) north of the capital, Sanaa, the agency reported.

Yemen has accused the Shia cleric of sedition and anti-American extremism.

At least 12 government soldiers are also reported to have died in the operation against the rebels, which the ministry said started four days ago when police attempted to arrest the cleric.

Since then, at least 35 rebels had been wounded and 43 had been arrested, according to the government.

Crackdown

Officials said a large cache of automatic rifles, grenade-launchers and land mines had been recovered from the homes of Mr Houthi's supporters.

Security sources quoted by the Reuters news agency say Mr Houthi, who belongs to the Zaidi sect of Yemen's Shia Muslim minority, heads a rebel group which has taken part in violent protests against the US and Israel.

Yemen's government recently launched a crackdown against suspected extremists linked to al-Qaeda.

It has not claimed Mr Houthi's rebels are linked to the group.


Yemen clashes leave 118 dead

Saturday 3 July 2004

More than 100 people have died in clashes between followers of a rebel cleric, Hussein al-Houthi, and Yemeni forces, the authorities said.

Interior Minister Rshad al-Alimi told parliament that 86 supporters of the cleric had been killed since mid-June, as well as 32 soldiers and policemen.

The government has accused the Shia cleric of setting up an armed group and unlicensed religious centres.

The minister said a siege in mountainous northern Yemen continued.

Sources close to Mr Houthi said the death toll was closer to 200, Reuters news agency reported.

The government also said 120 members of the security forces and 21 supporters of the cleric had been wounded during the clashes in Saada province.

Over 185 followers of the preacher had been arrested, the government said.

Hatred

Hussein al-Houthi is a member of the Zaidi community, a moderate Shia sect in the north of the mainly Sunni country.

The government accuses him of setting up an armed group called Believing Youth and of staging violent anti-American protests.

Anti-US sentiment in the region is high following the occupation of Iraq and some Yemeni clerics are known to preach hatred of the West.


Net closes around Yemen rebels

President Saleh has been a strong supporter of the US "war on terror"

Monday 5 July 2004

Government forces are closing in on an opposition cleric and his supporters in a mountainous region of northern Yemen, military sources say.

More than 150 troops and insurgents have been killed, including a rebel commander, in skirmishes.

The government accuses Sheikh Hussein al-Houthi, a leader of the Shia Zeidi sect, of forming an underground armed group and fomenting sectarian strife.

Battles were still raging in the Maran area, reports said.

Zeidis are a moderate Shia group living mainly in north-west Yemen.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has called on Mr Houthi to turn himself in, promising him a fair trial.

"I call on you to surrender and I guarantee a fair process in the accusations against you," the president said in quotes carried by local media.

He said Mr Houthi's group had attacked mosques and urged Yemenis to arm themselves against possible attacks by the US.

The cleric had also said in his lectures that democracy would bring a Jewish leader to power in Yemen.

Anti-US feeling

Dozens of Mr Houthi's supporters were reported to have turned themselves in early after violent fighting at dawn on Sunday.

Correspondents say the cleric, who served as an MP in Yemen's parliament from 1993 to 1997, enjoys the support of up to 3,000 armed rebels.

Fighting broke out between rebel forces and government troops two weeks ago.

Since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, impoverished Yemen has launched a major crackdown against al-Qaeda sympathisers among the country's Sunni majority.

Mr Houthi has not been accused of links to al-Qaeda.

But anti-US and anti-Israeli sentiment is high all over Yemen because of the occupation of Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


Yemen army crushes Shia rebellion

Friday 6 August 2004

Yemeni troops say they have seized rebel strongholds

The Yemeni government has ended an offensive that lasted more than a month against a rebel cleric in the north of the country, say officials.

Security officials said they had seized the last stronghold of Sheikh Hussein al-Houthi, head of the Shia Zeidi sect.

More than 200 troops and rebels have been killed in fighting over several weeks in the mountainous Maran area.

The army is now carrying out house-to-house searches to find the cleric and his followers.

Sheikh al-Houthi is accused of setting up unlicensed religious centres and of forming an armed group which staged violent protests against the US and Israel.

Fighting broke out between rebel forces and government troops in mid-June.

Correspondents said at the time that the cleric, who served as an MP in Yemen's parliament from 1993 to 1997, enjoyed the support of up to 3,000 armed rebels.

At least 40 people were killed in renewed fighting this week after a new mediation effort failed, officials said.

'Crushed'

Yemen's Army Chief of Staff Brig Gen Mohammad al-Qassimi said on Friday that the resistance had been all but overcome.

"I can assure you it will be crushed within 12 hours," he told reporters in the main north-western city of Saada.

"Army forces have entered all areas in the Maran mountains and there are now only a few pockets of limited resistance in some villages there."

Zeidis are a moderate Shia group living mainly in north-west Yemen.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh said in July Mr Houthi's group had attacked mosques and urged Yemenis to arm themselves against possible attacks by the US.

The cleric had also previously said in his lectures that democracy would bring a Jewish leader to power in Yemen.

President Saleh called on Mr Houthi to turn himself in, promising him a fair trial.

Since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, impoverished Yemen has launched a major crackdown against al-Qaeda sympathisers among the country's Sunni majority.

Mr Houthi has not been accused of links to al-Qaeda.

But anti-US and anti-Israeli sentiment is high all over Yemen because of the occupation of Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


Monday 9 August 2004

Yemen continues campaign against Shia cleric

A $55,000 bounty is on offer for Hussein al-Houthi


Clashes between Yemeni troops and supporters of a dissident cleric are reported to be continuing, despite official claims that they had ended.

Soldiers are still fighting militants loyal to Hussein al-Houthi, three days after an army chief said the resistance was all but overcome.

Reports of the numbers of rebels and soldiers killed in seven weeks of raids vary from about 80 to more than 600.

Sheikh al-Houthi is accused of setting up unlicensed religious centres.

He is also accused of forming an armed group which staged violent protests against the US and Israel.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has accused Mr Houthi and his supporters of being "foreign agents" seeking to foment sectarian strife.

'Crushed within hours'

Officials say the action is not aimed at Zaidis in general. Zaidis are members of a moderate Shia Muslim sect that is dominant in the region near the Saudi border in what is otherwise a mainly Sunni country.

Army chief of staff Brig Gen Mohammad al-Qassimi said on Friday that resistance to government forces in the mountainous region of Saada province, 240km (150 miles) north of the capital Sanaa was almost beaten.

"I can assure you it will be crushed within 12 hours," he told reporters.

Mr Houthi is believed to be hiding in the area.

A reward of about $55,000 has been offered for his capture, but President Saleh has promised a fair trial if he surrenders.


Friday 10 September 2004:

Yemeni forces kill rebel Shia cleric

A $55,000 bounty was on offer for Hussein al-Houthi


Yemen says its forces have killed rebel Shia cleric Hussein al-Houthi.
Hundreds of people have been killed since he launched a revolt against the authorities two months ago.

A statement from the Yemeni interior and defence ministries said Sheikh Houthi had been killed with a number of his aides.

Sheikh Houthi and his men had been hiding in caves in a mountainous area close to the border with Saudi Arabia.

"Today, all the military and security operations to quell the rebellion launched by the so-called Hussein al-Houthi and his supporters have finished with the killing of Houthi and a number of his aides," the statement said.

Bounty

Sheikh Houthi is accused of setting up unlicensed religious centres, creating an armed group called Believing Youth and of staging violent anti-American protests.

He had accused Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh of seeking to please the United States at the expense of his own people.

Anti-US sentiment in the region is high following the occupation of Iraq and some Yemeni clerics are known to preach hatred of the West.

In June, Yemen placed a $55,000 bounty on the head of Sheikh Houthi and launched an operation to capture him.

The battles have been ongoing in the mountainous province of Saada, some 150 miles (240km) north of the capital, Sanaa.

Sheikh Houthi is a member of the Zaidi community, a moderate Shia sect in the north of the mainly Sunni country.

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