Sa'dah conflict
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| Sa'dah conflict | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location of Sa'dah inside Yemen |
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| Combatants | |||||||
 Military of Yemen |
Shiite insurgents | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| many | Hussein al-Houthi† Badreddin al-Houthi |
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| Casualties | |||||||
| > 700 killed[1] | |||||||
The Sa'dah conflict began in June 2004 when dissident cleric Hussein al-Houthi, head of the Shī‘a Zeidi sect, launched an uprising against the Yemeni government. Most of the fighting has taken place in Sa'dah Governorate in Northwestern Yemen. The Yemeni government accuses the Iranian government of directing and financing the insurgency.[2]
[edit] Timeline
From June to August 2004, government troops battled supporters of al-Houthi in the north.[3] Estimates of the dead range from 80 to more than 600. In September, Yemeni forces killed al-Houthi.[4]
Between March and April 2005, more than 200 people were killed in a resurgence of fighting between government forces and supporters of the slain cleric.
In May 2005, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that the leader of the rebellion had agreed to renounce the campaign in return for a pardon. However, minor clashes continued.
In March 2006, the Yemeni government freed more than 600 captured Shī‘a fighters.[5]
A new spate of fighting broke out on 28 January 2007, when militants attacked multiple government installations, killing six soldiers and injuring 20 more.[6] A second series of attacks on January 31 left six more soldiers dead and 10 wounded.[7] A further ten soldiers died and 20 were wounded in an attack on an army roadblock near the Saudi Arabian border on February 1.[1] Though there has been no official confirmation of militant casualties in the attacks, government sources claim three rebel fighters were killed in a security operation following the January 31 attacks.[8]
In February 2007, the Yemeni government claimed to have killed 80 Shia rebels while sustaining a loss of 15 government soldiers. The rebels deny losing 80 men but acknowledged suffering losses. A total of 40 government soldiers have been killed in the past two weeks.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Yemeni soldiers killed in attack", Al Jazeera English, 2007-02-01. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ Johnsen, Gregory D. (2007-02-20). Yemen Accuses Iran of Meddling in its Internal Affairs (PDF). Terrorism Focus 4 (2): 3-4. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ "Clashes 'leave 118 dead' in Yemen", BBC News, 2004-07-03. Retrieved on February 3, 2007.
- ^ "Yemeni forces kill rebel cleric", BBC News, 2004-09-10. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
- ^ "Yemen tells Shi'ite rebels to disband or face war", SignOnSanDiego.com, Reuters, 2004-01-29. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
- ^ "'Shia gunmen' kill Yemeni troops", BBC News, 2004-01-28. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
- ^ "Shi'ite rebels kill six Yemen soldiers - Web site", Reuters, 2007-02-01. Retrieved on February 3, 2007.
- ^ "10 soldiers killed in attack in Yemen", Middle East Online, 2007-02-02. Retrieved on February 3, 2007.
- ^ "Yemen Shia rebels 'lose 80 men'", BBC News, 2007-02-14. Retrieved on February 14, 2007.
