Sanaa: Some 95 Yemenis have been killed in various clashes over the last two days, prompting talk of an all-out war between government troops and rebels in Sadaa, in the north of the country, official sources said yesterday.
"Fifteen individuals from government troops were martyred, and more than 80 rebels and terrorists were killed," said an unidentified official in remarks published yesterday by the state-run media.
All-out war has not started yet. A security source said these causalities occurred in different clashes with Abdul Malek Al Houthi supporters who have been blocking roads and setting ambushes to attack troops. He denied using war planes or heavy weapons against the rebels.
"Troops have been chasing those making the ambushes armed with only medium-sized weapons," the security source told Gulf News over the phone from Saada.
The source said if mediation by religious scholars was not successful, then armed forces would play their role in protecting the security and stability of the nation.
Terrorist elements
The group of religious scholars, who have been trying to convince Al Houthi to surrender, yesterday asked for more time to continue their mediation efforts, Yemeni sources in Saada and Sanaa told Gulf News.
"We are waiting for directives from the higher leadership to defeat the elements of terrorism and rebellion," the source added.
Meanwhile, the Shura Council, an 111-member advisory council for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, accused unnamed external bodies of supporting Al Houthi, calling repeatedly for the state to take decisive steps to end the crisis.
"The terrorist Abdul Malek Al Houthi and his group have been making their malignant conspiracy with internal and external support," Abdul Azeez Abdul Gani, Chairman of the Shura Council said in a meeting.
"They want to get Yemen into the ongoing regional conflict with the aim of dividing the nation for foreign interests. They pose the most dangerous threat to the nation, and they must be dealt with toughly and severely," he said in the Shura meeting which was attended by defence and security officials.
