From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Sep 10 2009 - 05:40:39 EDT
'Heavy losses' in Yemen fighting
Thursday, September 10, 2009 12:07 Mecca time, 09:07 GMT
The Yemeni government says it has inflicted "heavy losses" on opposition
fighters in the latest clashes in the north of the country.
At least 17 suspected Houthi fighters, named after the group's leader
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, were killed overnight in clashes in the mountainous
province of Saada, local news agencies reported on Thursday.
"The army and security forces have inflicted heavy losses upon the saboteurs
and the rebels whether in terms of lives or equipment," the Saba news agency
quoted a local official as saying.
Several vehicles carrying aid, ammunition and weaponry were destroyed as
military aircraft bombarded the area, the military said.
The conflict between the Houthi fighters, who belong to the Shia Zaidi sect,
and government forces first broke out in 2004, but last month the fighting
intensified as the group pushed to topple the government.
In depth
http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2009/8/12/2009812101218354371_8.
jpg
<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/09/200999133235309248.htm
l> Video: Interview with Yemen's president
<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/09/200997123658326262.htm
l> Foreign states blamed in Yemen war
<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/08/200981294214604934.htm
l> Profile: Yemen's Houthi fighters
<http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2009/08/200981314245634
3526> Inside story: Yemen's future
"We know who they are. They claim to have a legitimate right to rule the
country, and that the current government in power since the revolution 47
years ago is an usurpating power," Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president,
said in an interview to Al Jazeera aired on Wednesday.
"They claim that they have a divine right, and that they are the descendants
of the Prophet. In fact, they are murders, rebels and outlaws.
"We need to continue our mission in order to eradicate this malignant
cancer."
Thousands of people have fled the fighting and aid groups have warned of a
possible humanitarian crisis in the remote region.
A brief ceasefire was agreed on Friday after aid agencies asked to be
allowed assess to help the displaced, but fighting resumed after just four
hours.
UN agencies estimate the conflict has added another 50,000 to 100,000 people
to those previously left homeless by earlier fighting in the poorest Arab
country.
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