Gulf | Yemen
Al Houthi rebels 'broke peace deal'
The Qatari mediators have been exerting efforts to end the four-year conflict since the deal was reached in June last year.
- By Nasser Arrabyee, Correspondent
- Published: 00:30 May 2, 2008
Sana'a: The authorities held responsible the rebel leader Abdul Malek Al Houthi for violating a Qatari-brokered deal to end armed rebellion in the north of the country after some soldiers were killed in renewed clashes earlier this week.
The Qatari mediators have been exerting efforts to end the four-year conflict since the deal was reached in June last year.
"Al Houthi rebels attacked a convoy of soldiers who were returning from their leave and were not carrying guns, in Qarah-Magaz, Sa'adah province. The soldiers were passing peacefully through the area. Seven of them were killed and 17 injured in the attack," said the Ministry of Defence in a statement published on Thursday.
"The rebels have not respected the Qatari good offices until now. They repeatedly carried on such attacks on troops, citizens, tribal shaikhs [chiefs] and also against the public and private properties," the statement said.
Qatar negotiations
Al Houthi and his followers should be held responsible for breaking the Qatari-brokered deal by those treacherous attacks, the statement said.
Last week, President Ali Abdullah Saleh had exempted a presidential committee from their tasks for not achieving any progress in implementation of the 10-point agreement to end the rebellion under Qatari sponsorship. The ousted committee comprised 15 members, including five Al Houthi supporters.
A new presidential committee, the third since the Qatari-brokered deal was signed last June, was formed of seven people - five from the government and two Al Houthi representatives.
A source close to the Qatari mediators and the new presidential committee said they would resume talks with the rebels next Saturday.
The source said arrangements and consultations were held yesterday with the aim of setting up a framework for implementing the deal of ending the rebellion.
The seventh clause of the agreement, which relates to making the rebels come down from mountains and accept the government, were the biggest problems that faced the previous committees. The government insists that rebels should lay down their weapons and return homes. Al Houthis, in turn, insist that the troops withdraw first.
Deputy governor of Sa'ada No'man Al Daees praised the role being played the Qatari officials to bring peace to war-torn province. But the official said Qatar should be brave enough to say which party was obstructing the solutions.
The official said rebels receive support from Iran.
"We cannot describe them [Al Houthis] as a religious movement, they are a political movement, which receives support from Iran," the official told reporters in Sa'ada on Thursday.
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