Sa'ada rebellion draws to a close

Troops in Sa'ada will soon put down their arms.

The field leader of the armed rebellion in the north of Yemen, Abdul Malik Al Houthi, has said he would stop fighting and commit to the republican system in response to a previous call by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In a statement sent to the Yemeni government late Saturday, Al Houthi said, "In response to the call of his Excellency Ali Abdullah Saleh in his speech in Ibb city on May 22, 2007, on the occasion of the 17th anniversary of the National Day, for saving the blood, we announce the halting of violence and fighting, and our commitment to the republic system, constitution, laws of the country, and implementation of the conditions we agreed upon in the framework of the good offices and efforts exerted by the State of Qatar under the auspices of his Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khaleefa  Al Thani, emir of the State of Qatar. Abdul Malik Badr Al Deen Al Houthi. May 16th, 2007."

In response, the Yemeni government said that it would stop military operations, if the Al Houthi rebels committed to conditions included in a Qatari-brokered agreement.

The main leaders of the armed rebellion that erupted in Sa’ada early this year left Yemen Saturday for the State of Qatar, which is mediating an end to the bloody, five-month conflict, well-informed  sources said Saturday.

The sources said that Abdul Malik Al Houthi, Abdul Kareem Al Houthi, and Abdullah Al Ruzami and their families were secured to leave for the neighbouring Saudi airport of Dhahran, in the south of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from which they flew directly to Doha.

The three men, who have led armed rebellions three times since Hussein Al Houthi was killed in September 2004, said that after about three months of battles with government troops, they did not have enough trust in Yemeni authorities to travel through the Sana'a airport, the sources said. Yahya Al Houthi, another brother of the slain Hussein, who has been living in Germany, also arrived in Doha earlier in the week. 

Coordination between Yemen and Saudi Arabia took place to secure the rebel leaders' transportation to the Saudi airport of Dhahran, the sources said.

Earlier, the state-run media said that the all military operations in Sa'ada province would be halted if the rebels surrendered their medium-sized weapons, returned home as good citizens, recognized the republican system, and abided by the constitution and laws, like other citizens.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh held a meeting with his senior officials late last week, and approved an accord for permanently closing the file on Sa'ada.

The nine-point accord, which was published by official and non-official media, said that the leaders of the rebellion should stay in Qatar without practicing any political or media activities hostile to Yemen. It also holds that they should not leave Qatar, except with the approval of the Yemeni government.

The military operations should stop, rebellion should come to an end, detainees should be released, weapons and ammunition should be surrendered, freedom of expression should respected, said the accord.

Furthermore, Al Houthi followers should have the right to establish a political party, it said. Also, all inciting media campaigns should stop, and the Yemeni government should reconstruct the damaged areas.

A committee from the Yemeni Parliament was formed with the aim of supervising the implementation of the accord.

On June 6th, Saleh received in Sana'a the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al Thani, with whom he agreed to form a committee to convey the Qatari view to end the rebellion to Al Houthis in Sa'ada.
Earlier in the month, Saleh's political advisor, Abdul Kareem Al Eryani, conveyed a letter to the Emir of Qatar relating to the same issue.

In related news, the General Prosecutor began investigations on Saturday of fifteen Yemeni Al Houthi supporters, including a woman, who were arrested in the city of Sana'a on charges of planning to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts against government officials and installations inside Sana'a.  Two security officers at least were killed while chasing these wanted people earlier this month. 

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