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| Arabia |
| Yemen Houthi rebels quit stronghold in Saada |
| 2010-02-26 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Shiite rebels in northern Yemen withdrew their forces from their stronghold of Saada on Thursday in order to allow civilians to return to the city, a spokesman said. "To confirm our desire for peace, we have taken today a new step consistent (with that goal) and withdrawn from the city of Saada," which lies 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of the capital Sanaa, a spokesman told AFP by telephone. This was done to "prevent the authorities from having any excuse to prevent the residents of the city from returning to their homes," he added. The operation was completed by early evening. The rebels made the announcement after accusing the army on their website of maintaining its blockade on roads leading into the city, which was the scene of fierce fighting during the five-month government campaign to crush the rebels. "Up until now, the army is refusing to lift the siege of Saada and is blocking citizens from going home," a statement said. As well as freeing all prisoners and opening roads in the north, the truce which went into effect on Feb. 12 requires the rebels to withdraw from government buildings, return arms seized from security forces and hand over captured army posts. The rebels have accused the army of having set up its own roadblocks last week on all the arteries opened up under the truce and of blocking humanitarian aid from reaching affected areas. The statement denounced "an aggressive attitude and the bad faith of the authorities, who are not looking for a genuine solution to the problem because they are ignoring the suffering of the population and the displaced." "It is this that is placing obstacles on the path to peace." The truce came after more than five months of heavy fighting between the rebels and the Yemeni government in the northern mountains, which pulled Saudi armed forces into the fray. Four committees in north Yemen are charged with implementing the ceasefire between the rebels and the government, which went into effect on Feb. 12. |
| Posted by:Fred |