Gulf | Yemen
Yemen seeks to restart mediation efforts with rebels of Zaidi sect
Clashes between rebels and Yemeni troops have resumed in the wake of a devastating bomb attack outside a mosque that killed 18 worshippers, a government official said on Saturday.
- AP
- Published: 21:46 May 3, 2008
- The wreckage of a motorcycle used in a bomb attack lies outside the Bin Salman Mosque in Sa'ada on Friday. Officials blamed the bombing on followers of rebel leader Abdul Malek Al Houthi.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Sana'a: Clashes between rebels and Yemeni troops have resumed in the wake of a devastating bomb attack outside a mosque that killed 18 worshippers, a government official said on Saturday.
Three soldiers and four rebels died in the overnight skirmishes which took place in the remote mountain province of Sa'ada, near the Saudi border, where a rebellion by a small Shiite sect has been raging for the last four years.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press, added that a committee of government officials was looking to restart mediation efforts with the rebels of Al Zaidi sect.
Families yesterday buried their dead from the blast which also wounded dozens. The bomb rigged to a motorcycle blew up amid a crowd of worshippers leaving Friday prayers at a mosque in a rebel stronghold in northern Yemen.
The government of predominantly Sunni Yemen blamed the bombing of the Shiite mosque on rebel leader Abdul Malek Al Houthi and said six people had been arrested in Sa'ada.
But Al Houthi denied involvement and accused senior army officers of staging the bombing to stoke tensions between the rebels and government.
The Shiite rebels accuse the government of corruption and of being too closely allied with the West. The government accuses Al Houthi of sedition, forming an illegal armed group and inciting anti-American sentiment.
Yemen is a key US ally in the Middle East but is also the ancestral homeland of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida is active in the country. Recently there have been a series of attacks in Yemen targeting foreigners.
But car bombings and attacks on mosques are both rare in Yemen and analysts said the targeting of a mosque is a dangerous escalation in the northern conflict.
The rebellion erupted nearly four years ago when Al Houthi's brother, cleric Hussain Badr Eddin, ordered his followers to take up arms against the government. The cleric was eventually killed in a battle later that year and his brother has since assumed the role of rebel leader.
The Shiite fighters signed two ceasefire agreements with the government in June 2007 and January of this year, but sporadic violence continues.
Sa'ada residents now fear a new round of bloody fighting between the government and rebels. Al Houthi's followers have so far refused to hand over their weapons. They accuse the government of not fulfilling its obligations under the cease-fire agreements, which include freeing rebel detainees, paying compensation to victims and rebuilding villages ravaged by fighting.
The mosque attack came a day after Yemen's military announced the deaths of seven troops and blamed Sa'ada rebels. Top Yemeni defence officials and army generals arrived in Sa'ada late on Thursday, and more government troops were expected to be deployed to the area even before Friday's attack.
Share this article
Related Articles
-
Clashes in Yemen resume overnight
Clashes in Yemen resume after mosque bombing
-
Al Houthi rebels 'broke peace deal'
Al Houthi rebels 'broke peace deal'
-
Blast deals blow to Yemen deal
Blast deals blow to Yemen deal
-
Clashes in Yemen kill eight people
Clashes in Yemen kill eight people
Popular in News
News Editor's choice
-
Reader helps police to bust brothel
More than 20 gang members recently arrested from running brothels in Dubai
-
Philippine areas under emergency rule
Toll rises to 46 in brutal kidnap and murder in the south
-
Obama seeks to reassure Singh on ties
Singh is on elaborate state visit that will include talks on US ties with Pakistan
