Islamic regime website in support of the Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRLqHKRS4wo

Saudis 'to keep up Houthi campaign'

Saudi Arabia has imposed a naval blockade along the Red Sea coast of northern Yemen in an attempt to cut off supplies to Houthi fighters along its border with Yemen.

The kingdom's warships were ordered on Tuesday to search any ship suspected of carrying weapons or fighters near the Yemeni coast, a government adviser said, as Riyadh vowed to continue its offensive against the rebels until they pull back from the border area.

Despite a warning by Iran to keep out of Yemen's affairs, Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the Saudi deputy defence minister, pledged to keep up the military offensive against the Houthis on Tuesday, as he visited Saudi troops in the kingdom's southwest Jizan province.

"We are not going to stop the bombing until the Houthis retreat tens of kilometres inside their border," he said.

His comments came as the rebels announced they had taken control of more territory on the border with Saudi Arabia, heightening concerns about growing instability in the region.

The fighters released a statement on Tuesday, saying: "Full control was taken last night over Qatabar directorate and control of all supplies and ammunition as well as buildings and other military sites."

Yemeni officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Saudi offensive

Qatabar lies in the mountainous northern province of Saada, which borders Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil exporter.

The northern province has also been the scene of most of the fighting that has taken place in recent months between Yemeni government forces and the rebels.

Saudi forces have launched a series of military strikes in recent days against the Houthis after the fighters killed a Saudi soldier in a cross-border raid last week.

Riyadh has become increasingly anxious about instability in Yemen, which is facing opposition from the Shia population in the north, separatist sentiment in the south and a growing threat from resurgent al-Qaeda fighters.

The 1,500km border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia is a security worry for the kingdom, which is building a high-tech border fence to prevent infiltration.

Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, said: "We are amid a campaign and a propaganda war with both sides saying they have made huge advances.

"Saudi Arabia is a key player in Yemen, it has loyalty of tribal leaders, politicians and religious leaders here.

"Saudi Arabia prides itself by saying they are the protectors of Sunni Islam and while 80 per cent of Yemen's population is Sunni, they say it is their moral obligation to protect Sunnis everywhere in the world."

Proxy war

Saudi Arabia also has concerns that the Houthis are being used by Iran to fight a proxy war against it.

But on Tuesday, Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, dismissed claims that Tehran is supporting the rebels, Iranian state media reported.

He also warned Yemen's neighbours against intervening in the country's internal affairs.

All those who attempt to escalate strife will not be spared its impact, he said.

Foad Izadi, a professor of political communications at Tehran university, said Iran's public warning is part of an effort to ensure stability in the region.

"Whenever fighting breaks out in any part of this region it is going to affect every country," Izadi told Al Jazeera.

"Iran does not want to see a conflict that was internal - inside Yemen - become a regional conflict because that will destabilise the whole region."

'Taking sides'

Izadi said the threat of instability was compounded by Saudi Arabia's military offensive, a move he said was "not advisable".

"It would have been much better for the Saudi government to mediate between the Yemeni government and the people in the northern part instead of taking sides.

"It's unfortunate that they decided to do that."

Houthis first took up arms against the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s president, in 2004, citing political, economic and religious marginalisation by the Saudi and Western-backed administration.

The conflict intensified in August when Yemen's army launched Operation Scorched Earth.

Aid groups, which have been given limited access to the northern provinces, say at least 150,000 people have fled their homes since 2004.

Source:

Al Jazeera and agencies

Yemen's Houthi rebels get Iran assurance, ask Saudis to stop strikes

The Houthis rebels waging an insurgency against Yemen's government asked Saudi Arabia to stop its airstrikes against them. The Saudis began the strikes after the Houthis crossed into their border.

By Kristen Chick

from the November 11, 2009 edition

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

The rebels waging an insurgency against the government in north Yemen asked Saudi Arabia Wednesday to end its attacks on them.

Saudi Arabia launched the airstrikes last week after a cross-border raid by the rebels, known as the Houthis, killed at least one Saudi border guard and wounded 15.

The commander of the Houthis said the airstrikes were "not in the best interest of the two countries," reports the BBC. He also said the Houthis were fighting in self defense, and denied receiving support from Iran.

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it would not stop attacking the rebels until they retreat from its border, reports Reuters. The assistant minister of defense, Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, said Saudi Arabia has secured its border against the rebels, but would continue its airstrikes until the Houthis were well away from the border. Also on Tuesday the rebels claimed to have wrested control of more territory from the government.

The Houthis, who are from the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam, claim to be fighting for the rights of the Zaydi Shiite community, which they contend is discriminated against and marginalized in Yemen. They have been fighting Yemen's government for five years, and three months ago the government launched a new offensive in an attempt to quell them.

The conflict has displaced 30,000 Yemenis since mid-August, The Christian Science Monitor reported last month. Thousands more have been displaced in recent days, reports Bloomberg. The UN called for secure routes to deliver aid, warning there may be "widespread suffering" if it is not able to do so.

Yemen, which is majority Sunni, has accused Iran of arming the rebels, something both Iran and the Houthis deny. The Houthis, meanwhile, have accused Saudi Arabia of allowing Yemen to launch its own attacks on the Houthis from Saudi soil, which both nations deny. This has raised the possibility of a proxy war between regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran in poverty-stricken Yemen, whose weak government is already fighting a separatist movement in the south and a growing Al Qaeda organization.

Iran offered to help Yemen restore stability Wednesday, after warning Yemen's neighbors to stay out of the conflict Tuesday, reports Agence France-Presse. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called for a "collective approach" to "restore security, peace and tranquillity" in Yemen, according to the news agency.

It was a departure from his remarks Tuesday:

The foreign minister did not identify Saudi Arabia by name but told reporters that countries in the region "must seriously hold back from intervening in Yemen's internal affairs."

"Those who pour oil on the fire must know that they will not be spared from the smoke that billows," he said.

Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia is deeply troubled by the unrest on its border, and likely launched the airstrikes as a warning.

Ginny Hill, a British-based author on Yemen, said the Saudi action appeared to be a show of strength to tell Yemen, the Houthis and the region that the border is not a "soft flank".

She said it reflected Saudi anxiety, shared by other Arab states and the West, about Yemen's confluence of crises.

"Its trajectory is deeply concerning, not only because of the fighting in the north, but also the economic crisis, the southern separatist movement, the perception that the government may not be able to maintain control and because of al Qaeda."

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