Yemeni army gains upper hand against Houthis

Lina Ibrahim
For Al-Shorfa.com
2009-12-12

Children in the Al-Mazraq refugee camp in the Yemeni district of Hajjah in north-west Saada province. (Reuters/Khaled Abdullah)

Yememi military commanders recently confirmed that the army has gained the upper hand in the fight against Houthi rebels in the province of Saada as fighting began anew on Dec. 7.

A number of casualties, both civilians and military personnel, were reported in the region, which is considered a stronghold for the Houthis. The detention of 15 Houthis and 30 others was also reported.

The Houthi rebels dragged the fighting north into neighbouring Saudi Arabia last month. In response, Saudi security forces carried out armed attacks against them in early November, bombing rebel areas and their villages. The campaign followed the killing of several Saudi border guards at the hands of the rebels.

The current scope of the confrontation has expanded, leading to the displacement of about 55,000 people from their homes since November, following the entry of Saudi forces into the conflict.

On Dec. 8, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met in Washington with her Saudi counterpart, Saud Al-Faisal, to review the situation in Yemen.

On Dec. 7, the U.S. Senate adopted a resolution to provide ongoing support for "peace and security in Yemen, in addition to helping innocent civilians affected by the conflict in the region." The resolution called upon the United States and its allies to take "any appropriate action to assist the Yemenis and to prevent their country from entering a state of chaos."

Source: BBC / Al-Arabiya

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