Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2014 15:50:25 +0100
Yemen's Shiite rebels take city south of capital
AP , Wednesday 5 Nov 2014
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Yemen's powerful Shiite rebels who are in control of the capital swept a
central city south of the capital on Wednesday, after repelling al-Qaeda
militants in nearly two-weeks of deadly battles, officials said.
The rebels' latest territorial gains came at a time of increasing
international pressures on the Shiite group known also as Houthis. On
Tuesday, the United States asked the United Nations Security Council to
freeze the assets and impose a global travel ban on three figures blamed by
Yemen's western ally for orchestrating the current unrest. The three are
former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and two Houthi leaders.
Security officials say that the rebels took control of Adeen, 200 kilometers
(125 miles) south of Sanaa in Ibb province, which al-Qaeda forces had
captured over the past two weeks. Earlier last month, al-Qaeda militants
stormed the local security headquarters and held it for hours before fleeing
to the mountains.
Adeen is not the only place where al-Qaeda and the Houthis are engaged in
direct confrontations. On Tuesday, at least 30 people were killed in clashes
between Houthis and al-Qaeda militants in the central town of Radda where
tribes, opposed to both, fear of shifting alliances that could cause some
tribes to side with al-Qaeda against the Shiite rebels.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak to the press.
The Shiite rebels have been expanding their territorial gains over the past
year and are widely suspected of having links to Shiite powerhouse Iran.
Houthis follow the Shiite Zaydi faith, a branch of Shiite Islam that is
almost exclusively found in Yemen and makes up about 30 percent of the
country's population.
They accuse the country's embattled leadership of failing to take the lead
in combatting al-Qaeda and vowed to send Houthi militias or, "popular
committees," to combat the militant group in several parts of the country.
Despite the fact that both they and the U.S. oppose al-Qaeda, the Houthis
also take an anti-American stance and accuse the west of meddling in Yemen's
affairs.
Apart from the rampant al-Qaeda insurgency and the Shiite rebel blitz, Yemen
has also endured crushing poverty that has bred resentment - and outright
rebellion - that took root in a secessionist movement in its
once-independent southern region.
Houthi
Shi'ite Houthi rebels ride a patrol truck (Photo: Reuters)
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