Source: Reuters
SANAA, July 6 (Reuters) - A Yemeni court sentenced seven rebels from a Shi'ite Muslim sect to death on Monday after convicting them of causing deaths in clashes with army in 2008.
Hundreds of people died in the conflict and thousands fled their homes in battles between government forces and the rebels in the north, which have raged on and off since 2004.
The state security court also jailed for terms of 12-15 years another five of the rebels accused of seeking to install Shi'ite Islamic rule in the country, which borders the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia.
In July 2008, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said the battles with the rebels, known as the Houthis, had ended and that dialogue should replace fighting. The rebels belong to the Shi'ite Zaydi sect and are led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
Officials have often said the rebels want to restore a form of clerical rule prevalent in the country until the 1960s. The rebels, who want Zaydi schools and oppose the government's alliance with the United States, say they are defending their villages against government oppression.
Sunni Muslims form a majority of Yemen's 19 million population, while most of the rest are Shi'ite Zaydis.
One of the poorest countries outside Africa, Yemen is also grappling with a violent campaign by al Qaeda militants, dwindling oil and water resources, unemployment, corruption and a growing community of Somali refugees. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Editing by Inal Ersan; Editing by Jon Boyle)
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Yemen says kills 11 rebels
03 Sep 2009 09:27:47 GMT
Source: Reuters
SANAA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Yemen said on Thursday it had killed 11 rebels in fighting in the north of the country, while the rebels posted footage on the Internet that appeared to show government troops withdrawing from one area.
Last month fresh fighting erupted between Shi'ite Zaydi Muslims in the mountainous Saad region bordering Saudi Arabia and the central government in Sanaa. Conflict first broke out in 2004.
On Wednesday, the rebels fighting in the north of the Arabian Peninsula country warned of a "long war" after the government rejected a truce offer. [ID:nLR537448]
A military spokesman said government forces had taken control of five rebel hideouts and "destroyed a number of locations where the rebels and terrorists were".
The rebels, led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, published footage on their website that showed dozens of what they said were captured government troops being escorted out of the Maran area.
Information about the conduct of the war has been hard to verify since northern provinces have been closed to media.
More than 100,000 people, many of them children, have fled their homes during the surge in fighting, a U.N. agency said last month, and aid groups have complained of poor access to the war zone. [ID:nN2184004]
The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday it had managed to distribute food aid to only 10,000 in Hajjah and Saada governorates in August compared to 95,000 people in July due to limited access.
The United Nations children's organisation UNICEF launched an appeal on Wednesday for $6.1 million to meet the needs of women and children affected by the fighting.
"Nearly half of the funding will help provide for the immediate water, sanitation and hygiene needs of the displaced population and the host communities," it said in a statement. Many are being housed in tented camps.
The rebels accuse Saudi Arabia of backing the government and the government sees an Iranian hand behind the rebels.
The government says the rebels want to restore a Shi'ite state overthrown in the 1960s and this week summoned the Iranian ambassador over Iranian media's coverage of the fighting.
The rebels say they want more autonomy, including Zaydi schools in their area. They oppose the spread of Saudi-influenced Sunni fundamentalism and accuse the government of indiscriminate bombing of villages. (Reporting by Mohamed Sudam; writing by Andrew Hammond and Tamara Walid)
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Yemen: ICRC and Yemen Red Crescent aid thousands as fighting continues
03 Sep 2009 08:07:32 GMT
The current armed clashes in northern Yemen have continued for almost three weeks, and the humanitarian situation is deteriorating.
Thousands have fled, taking refuge with relatives or host families.
Makeshift shelters have been set up in neighbouring areas, but some people have fled as far as the capital Sana'a, more than 300 km to the south.
The ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent Society have registered over 25,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in the provinces of Sa'ada and Amran and staff of the two organizations are working around the clock to respond to the most urgent needs.
"The dire humanitarian situation is hitting women and children especially hard,” said Daniel Gagnon, the ICRC's acting head of sub-delegation in Sa'ada.
But ICRC and Yemen Red Crescent aid is making a difference.
"Some of us have already received mattresses, gas bottles and food," said a displaced woman in Wadi Khaiwan.
She and her family had to flee al-Harf city in the north of Amran province.
"This helps us get along and makes us less of a burden to our host families and neighbours, who have very little themselves." In and around Sa'ada city, over 4,200 people are living in Al-Ihsa', Sam and Al-Talh camps, which are run by the ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent.
But as Daniel Gagnon points out, "there are thousands more in Sa’ada governorate who need our help.” Over 5,500 people are staying with host families in Sa'ada city.
As the influx continues, the ICRC is looking for ways of accommodating more.
"What the people need most is clean water, food and shelter,” said Daniel Gagnon.
"With commercial traffic paralyzed because of the fighting, people find it difficult to get supplies.” The conflict makes it difficult to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid, with fighting in parts of Sa'ada and Amran provinces hampering operations.
Despite the obstacles, ICRC and Yemen Red Crescent staff continue to bring help whenever the situation allows them to move safely.
How displaced people have benefited from ICRC activities in recent days
Medical supplie
A health centre in Wadi Khaiwan (Amran province) received basic medicines and a tent to act as a “waiting room”.
Yemen Red Crescent staff in Baqim (Sa'ada province) received ICRC support in the form of medicines for the treatment 400 patients.
The Yemen Red Crescent doctor based in Al-Azgoul received medicines.
Food and water
In Sa'ada province, 5,000 displaced people in the Al-Talh area received flour, rice and cooking oil, while more than 250 people in the Qataber area received flour.
5,500 people living with host families in Sa'ada city received flour, rice and beans.
Several dozen displaced families in Baqim and Al-Mahader (Sa'ada province) received daily water deliveries.
850 displaced people in Wadi Khaiwan (Amran province) received drinking water.
Shelter and other essential items
Over 3,500 families who fled to Sa'ada city are receiving basic household items.
ICRC and YRCS teams have been distributing blankets, mattresses, tarpaulins, jerrycans, soap, stoves, gas cylinders and other items to 2,500 people in the Wadi Khaiwan, Amran province.
Over 1,900 people from Al-Mahader, west of Sa'ada city, and more than 560 people in Sa'ada city itself received such essential household items as blankets, mattresses, tarpaulins, jerrycans, soap, stoves and gas cylinders.
7,000 people registered in the Baqim area should be receiving shelter and other essential items in the next few days.
The ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent are working on accommodating 3,000 people as soon as possible.
The ICRC has been working in Yemen since 1962 and in Sa'ada governorate since 2004.
Its workforce has been increasing steadily since the beginning of the year; the organization currently has 111 staff based in the country – 69 in the capital Sana'a, including 19 expatriates, and 42 in Sa'ada, including five expatriates.
For more information, please contact:
Hicham Hassan, ICRC Sana'a, tel: +967 1 213 844 or +967 712 666 536
Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 227 346 001 or +41 792 519 318
See also ICRC media contacts
This article on www.icrc.org
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