[Note: News about internal affairs in Yemen rarely makes the news, unless the word Al-Qaeda is associated with a local act of terrorism. But there are grievances and skirmishes that have virtually nothing to do with the West’s fear of global jihad. One of these is the ongoing violence in the north of Yemen near Sa‘da. The following report by Mohammed Bin Sallam brings us up to date on the problem.]

Al-Houthi warns of annihilative catastrophe amid indicators of fifth Sa’ada war

by Mohammed Bin Sallam, Yemen Times, December 16

The military authorities are deploying huge army units these days throughout the restive governorate of Sa’ada. The excessive presence of troops implies a government’s intention to wage a new war against Houthi supporters after Eid Al-Adha vacation.

SA’ADA, December 16 — Sa’ada is currently experiencing much scornful conducts by authorities such as the extensive arrest campaigns, demolition of homes, forcing children and women to live outdoors and the excessive deployment of troops. “Such procedures usually indicate a government’s intention to wage a war against innocent people in the war-ravaged governoratet,” Abdulmalik Badraddin Al-Houthi, field leader of Houthi loyalists said in a letter sent out to Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) and NGOs last week.

He confirmed that he and his supporters are compelled to defend themselves and confront any new attacks by the government troops against them.

“I fear any destructive consequences of such a tragic and dangerous situation in the war-torn governorate. Earlier, we sent you a letter during the fourth war urging you to intervene in the crisis, taking into account that you are concerned with what is happening in Sa’ada and that you are partners in religion, homeland and fate,” Al-Houthi said in his letter, addressed to JMP leaders. “All the Yemeni people suffer from the consequences of Sa’ada wars. Those who don’t suffer from murder and property damage are bound to face negative economic impacts because the influential groups exploit the country’s wealth and exercise property theft at the expense of starving and poor citizens.”

The leader of Houthis went on to say, “I do remind you (JMP leaders) of the risky consequences of the indifference toward what happens in Sa’ada. I do remind you of the tragedy and the destructive events that necessitate closer attention in order to help the governorate escape an unprecedented catastrophe.”

“Taking an initiative in this stage is a religious, national and human responsibility. It is not wise to wait until a fifth war breaks out, thereby destroying any remaining infrastructure and killing thousands of people on both sides (Sa’ada citizens and the military troops). A fifth war is bound to make the wound more painful and cause more tragedies in the nation,” he added. “If the concerned agencies and organizations don’t pay attention to such crises and issues, the doors of evil will remain open and the doors of goodness closed. This indicates the lack of clear conscience and human reaction to what is taking place. It also means that the country prepares to be a battleground for endless confrontations.”

Concluding his letter, Al-Houthi said, “We care about ceasing bloodshed. We care about the national security and stability. We exerted hard efforts and tolerated repeated tragedies with the purpose of preventing bloodshed and restoring security to the horror-stricken governorate. But, anyway, we are obliged to defend ourselves and confront any new assaults against us and our families.”

A public opinion poll, conducted by the Sana’a-based Yemeni Center for Strategic Studies and the results of which were published by Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper last week, revealed that the government’s mistakes are the primary reason behind Sa’ada war over the past three years. These mistakes are still threatening security and stability in Yemen.

Focusing on the Sa’ada war and targeting a randomly selected sample of university teachers and students, politicians, members of parliament and ordinary citizens, the poll revealed that 72 percent of those surveyed are of the opinion that the authority could have avoided the Sa’ada war that began in 2004 and renewed four times. Seventy-one percent of the sample attributed the war to the government’s misconducts while 66 percent of them said the war has not targeted the Zaidi sect, adhered to by slain Hussein Badraddin Al-Houthi, founder of Houthi Movement and also son of the top Zaidi reference in Yemen Sheikh Badraddin Al-Houthi.

Asked whether the authority expended serious efforts to avoid the Sa’ada war, 24 percent of the respondents said yes, compared to 50 percent who said the authority was not serous enough to avoid the fighting.

Giving an answer to a question about Houthis’ adherence to the Zaidi sect, 38 percent of those surveyed replied that Houthis do adhere to the Zaidi Sect, 34 percent of them said no while 9 percent provided that Houthis somewhat adhere to the sect and 19 percent said they don’ know.

Thirteen percent of the sample believe that Sa’ada war is a war on the Zaidi Sect and 66 percent of them revealed that the war has nothing to do with this sect. 14 of the respondents mentioned that position of tribesmen who backed the government during the Sa’ada war originates from a sectarian motivation and the same percentage of respondents somewhat agreed with this notion, compared to 56 percent who don’t agree and 16 percent who don’t know.

According to 66 percent of the interviewees, the Yemeni public opinion doesn’t know what is happening in Sa’ada, compared to only 11 percent who said people know about the Sa’ada fighting in details. Twenty-five of the sample told that the state was serious to compensate citizens whose property was damaged in the war while 45 percent revealed that the state was not serious to do so.

Similarly, 45 percent of those interviewed noted that JMP’s attitude toward Sa’ada war stems from these parties’ belief in the national interest, opposed to only 13 percent saying that such opposition parties have no national position toward the fighting.

Fifty-eight percent of the sample believes that the Houthis rebellious movement receives support from foreign forces, 16 percent of them somewhat agreed with this idea and only 7 percent rejected such an accusation while 19 percent told that they don’t know.

The poll revealed that 78 percent of the interviewees are of the opinion that the government’s war against Houthis in Sa’ada has a negative impact on the development process in the country, compared to only 4 percent who believe that the war has no influence on the national development. Eleven percent of the sample somewhat agree with the notion while 6 percent said they don’t know.

The poll targeted a randomly selected sample of 250 participants, including 50 university teachers, 50 university students (males and females), 30 politicians, 20 members of parliament and 100 ordinary citizens.

According to media sources, fierce clashes broke out last Wednesday between military forces and Houthi supporters in Ketaf district, leaving three soldiers and eight Houthis dead. Also, three soldiers and dozens of Houthis were injured in the clashes that continued for more than one hour.

During the clashes, army units deployed in Kahlan area of Sehar District, east of Sa’ada city, carried out a fierce offensive with mortars and tanks against some of Nishour areas, but the aftermath is still unknown.

The sources told that corpses of dead Houthis were taken to the morgue of General Jumhouri Hospital in Sa’ada city while a helicopter transported the corpses of dead troops, along with the wounded to Sana’a.