From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Oct 31 2009 - 17:28:37 EST
Yemeni president accused of 'genocide'
Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:22:05 GMT
A Yemeni parliamentarian has accused the government of 'genocide' in regard
to deliberate attacks on civilians and refugee camps in the northern parts
of the country.
Exiled Houthi lawmaker Yahya al-Houthi - who is the brother of the Shia
fighters' leader, Abdul-Malek - holds President Ali Abdullah Saleh
responsible for the army attacks on refugee camps, where thousands of
civilians took shelter from an all-out offensive against the fighters.
"The Yemeni government accuses us (Houthi fighters) of targeting the
refugees," Yahya al-Houthi told Press TV from Berlin.
This is while, the government is the one "targeting the civilians in the
refugee camps and the villages," he added.
Al-Houthi said that the refugee camps are being targeted by the military
planes. According to him, in a recent attack in Al-Nazir province, the
military planes left at least 23 civilians dead and 15 others injured.
The fighters had earlier said that targeting civilians would only strengthen
the people's solidarity and would encourage them to resist tyranny.
The fighters, led by Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, have been engaged in fierce
fighting with the government, since the army launched 'Operation Scorched
Earth' on August 11.
The government accuses fighters of seeking to restore a religious leadership
in the northern areas that was overthrown in 1962.
The Houthis, however, say they only seek more autonomy, a halt in the
alleged Saudi-backed efforts to cause regional insecurity and to impose
Wahabism in the region as well as an end to discrimination against their
people.
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