The head Houthi
This is some old news, in internet time, but I’m a bit behind on my reading today.
Yemen kept up its military offensive today against Shiite rebels in the northwest as troops, artillery and aircraft attacked a militant stronghold near the border with Saudi Arabia.
The mountainous Saada province shook with gunfire and explosions for a second day. The Sunni-led government, which claims the rebels have killed more than 330 people over the last year, said that militants had taken over schools and seized teachers. The Associated Press quoted a health official as saying that 12 people had been killed in the fighting.
I’d just like to point again to Babylon & Beyond, the brilliant LA Times blog about the Middle East, which carries the most fascinating stories. Like the tale of the pitiful Mazen Abdul Jawad, the pimp of Jidda (which a friend likened to being “the coldest point in hell”), who was arrested for discussing his sexual exploits on a Lebanese TV show, which is broadcast by satellite into his home state of Saudi Arabia–with public outcry leading to a bit of a goverment/media frenzy. And now the ministry of culture in Saudi has closed the Lebanese station’s offices in Saudi.
Anyway, back to Saudi’s neighbor to the South. This insurgency is closest to their larger northern neighbor, so that may explain the much harsher response:
The battle against the Shiite militants in the northwest is the latest flareup in a 5-year-old rebellion led by Abdul Malik Houthi. The Shiites, who want a return to clerical law, claim they are persecuted and that their region has not been developed. The government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh said the offensive was called after the insurgents violated a recent ceasefire.
A statement earlier this week by Yemen’s Supreme Security Committee said: “The state will strike these elements . . . with an iron fist until they surrender themselves to justice.”
The other possibility is sectarian. I’m too many miles away to tell. I hear the countryside is quite beautiful. But not the kind of place where you want to go for a picnic. Not coincidentally, the Yemeni government has blamed the Houthis for the kidnapping of those 9 foreign workers, 3 of whom were killed, while the other 6 remain missing.
Tags: Babylon & Beyond, Houthi, Jidda, Mazen Abdul Jawad, Saudi Arabia, Shiite, Yemen