Yemen: Renewed Houthi-government clashes in Amran
Sana'a announces three-month security plan to end armed confrontation
between Houtis and Sunni tribesmen
Written by : <
http://www.aawsat.net/author/h-rahbi> Hamdan Al-Rahbi
on : Friday, 11 Apr, 2014
Sana'a, Asharq Al-Awsat-Clashes between government troops and Shi'ite Houthi
tribesmen in the northern province of Amran, as Sana'a announced the
implementation of a three-month security plan to end the armed
confrontations in the region and return government control to the province.
Yemeni authorities reported that shots were fired on Thursday between
security officers and fighters belonging to the Zaydi Shi'ite Houthi
Movement after they attacked a security checkpoint at the entrance to the
city of Amran, in northern Yemen, killing an unspecified number of soldiers.
The violence comes one day after three soldiers were reported killed in
clashes with Houthi rebels who had sought to set up military checkpoints of
their own on roads coming in to the province.
The latest clashes between the Yemeni military and Houthi Movement fighters
take place against the backdrop of a fragile temporary government-backed
truce between the Shi'ite group and local Sunni tribesman. This conflict,
which had raged for months across a number of Yemeni provinces, has had
significant humanitarian repercussions, displacing a significant number of
people from the province.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Johannes Van Der Klaauw on Thursday
called on the parties to this conflict to avoid further escalation of the
conflict and allow humanitarian access to the province.
He said: "Humanitarian partners in Yemen have scaled up their presence and
response to the needs of displaced people who have been affected by recent
violence in Amran."
"Should current tensions in Amran escalate into violence, humanitarian
partners will not be able to deliver much needed assistance, particularly to
Amran City."
Van Der Klaauw hailed government efforts to mediate between the Sunni
tribesmen and the Houthis, saying that "it is important that the truce is
maintained so that humanitarian partners can reach all those in need. I urge
parties to the conflict to fully observe their duty to protect civilians and
to provide unfettered access for humanitarian actors to civilian populations
in need."
Yemen's humanitarian partners have delivered food and non-food assistance to
approximately 13,500 newly displaced people from Amran Province-11,354 of
them in the city of Amran and 2,128 in Sana'a.
In related news, two Saudi border guards were reported killed on Thursday
after being fired on from inside Yemeni territory. Saudi Interior Ministry
spokesman Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said that Riyadh and Sana'a are working
together to investigate the incident.
Received on Fri Apr 11 2014 - 10:07:01 EDT