[Illustration: Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar, left; bombed out buildings in northern Yemeni town of Sa‘da in 2004 fighting, center; Husayn al-Houthi, right.]

In September, 2004, Yemen’s military captured and killed a Zaydi cleric in the northern part of their country. His name was Husayn al-Houthi and he is alleged to have started a rebellion with a strong anti-American thrust. Although claims were made that he was trying to revive the Zaydi imamate (which was toppled in 1962 in the revolution that formed a republic in North Yemen), such an al-Qaeda clone conspiracy theory are exaggerated. Nevertheless, his followers carried on a regional rebellion, lately under the leadership of his son Abd al-Malik, and as a result thousands of soldiers, rebels and civilians have died and tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced. It is not surprising that you may not have seen much about the fighting in the media. Indeed it has been a little rebellion compared to events in Iraq, Afghanistan or Gaza, and it certainly did not threaten the ruling government’s overall hold on the country. But it was certainly a big deal in Yemen. And now, with mediation by the Emir of Qatar, it appears that there will be an end to the armed conflict. Details are provided in today’s Yemen Observer.

Al-Houthi rebels descend the mountains, lay down their weapons

Written By: Nasser Arrabyee
Yemen Observer, Jun 30, 2007

Al-Houthi rebels have come down from the mountains of northern Yemen to put down their weapons and return home, as instructed by a Qatari-brokered agreement to end the five-month war between them and the government troops, said mediators Thursday. “The areas from which the rebels have started to dismount were in the districts of Majaz, Baqem, and Qataber, but they did not surrender their weapons yet,” said Yasser al-Awadhi, spokesman of the political committee in charge of supervising the implementation of the agreement.

However, the al-Houthi rebels did not go back to their houses as it was stipulated by the agreement, but instead they headed to the Qataber district, the main stronghold where their leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi is based, according to al-Awadhi. “But we expect that all of those will return to their houses after they surrender their weapons today, Thursday,” said al-Awadhi in a statement sent to local media Thursday. The government troops have taken the rebels’ positions after the evacuation of areas in the three districts.

Al-Awadhi confirmed that the ceasefire was still in effect in all areas, with some exceptions, which he described as “individual violations by some elements. But such small violations would not affect the efforts of the ceasefire and getting life back to normal in the province of Sa’ada.” A nine-member political committee moved Wednesday from Sa’ada city to the districts of Majaz, Qataber and Manbah “to make sure that the rebels have dismounted from mountains in implementation of the first stage of the agreement,” said the spokesman of the committee. Some 95 percent of those areas were evacuated by the armed rebels, he said.

Implementation of the second stage of the agreement was expected to start Thursday, with the committee going to the districts of al-Safra, Sahar, and Cotaf, “Also, to make sure that the rebels have evacuated their positions and handed them to troops in addition to laying down their weapons,” said the spokesman. “The agreement steps are being implemented smoothly, especially in the light of the continuous follow up of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and also the role being played by our brothers in Qatar, who exert great efforts for implementing the agreement,” said al-Awadhi.

The next step will be the compensation of the scores of victims, and reconstruction work in the damaged areas, he said. The serious implementation of the agreement will be proven only once all of the al-Houthi rebels have descended from all of their positions and surrendered their weapons to the committees in charge, in the nine centers determined for the that purpose, he added. The Yemen committee is made up of nine members of the parliament, representing the opposition and ruling parties and also the independents. The Qatari committee is comprised of three advisors of Emir of the State of Qatar. Al-Houthi denied any differences among his followers in terms of the implementation of the agreement.

“I would like to confirm that our followers and supporters did not, and would not, obstruct the supervising committee. And we did not set any new condition at all,” said Abdul Malik al-Houthi in statements sent from Sa’ada. “With regard to some media reports on differences between our leaders, I’d like to confirm that there is not any difference and we are ready to implement the agreement away from interference in the committee’s work by some army leaders or tribal chiefs who attempt to thwart it,” he said. The State of Qatar has announced the establishment of a fund for reconstructing the war-torn areas in the Sa’ada province. It has called upon the other Gulf States to support the fund as well.

The Yemeni government has announced the establishment of a similar fund for reconstruction after the war. The Qatari-brokered agreement to end the rebellion in Yemen includes several stipulations. These include demands for: a ceasefire, and the compliance of Abdul Malek al-Houthi and his followers with the republican system, constitution and laws; an end to the rebellion and the implementation of the general amnesty; the release of all detainees except for those on trial; the normalization of life in all areas, and the return of all rebels to their homes as good citizens; the upholding of the general system of the state in the area, like in other areas in the country; the surrender of medium-sized weapons and ammunitions; respect for the freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to establish a political party according to the constitution and laws in effect; that Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Yahya al-Houthi, Abdul Kareem al-Houthi and Abdullah al-Ruzami should arrive in Qatar without practicing any political or media activities hostile to Yemen; that those individuals not leave Qatar except with the approval of the Yemeni government; stopping all media campaigns and inciting works; the Yemen government should reconstruct what was damaged by the war; and the State of Qatar would contribute to a fund for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged areas and the compensation of war victims.