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French student killed in rebel attack in northern Yemen
Sana'a, Yemen - A French student and a Yemeni one were killed and several other Yemeni students were injured after Shiite rebel fighters attacked a religious institute in northern Yemen on Monday, a Defence Ministry statement said. The statement said 'terrorist elements attacked a group of students of the Dammaj institute,' in the restive province of Saada. 'Two students, a Yemeni and a French national, who was attending an Arabic language class at the institute, were killed,' the statement posted on the ministry's website said. It said the attack took place as the students were walking on a road near the Dammaj Institute for Islamic Studies in Saada, some 230 kilometres north of Sana'a. Saada has been the scene of fierce battles between the army and members of the outlawed Shiite group Believing Youth since last December. Students from different nationalities, including Westerners, attended the institute for Islamic studies or Arabic language classes.
Fierce battles broke out between the army and rebels acting under the umbrella of the underground Believing Youth late last December after authorities accused rebels of attacking military and police posts in Saada. On March 7, the army said it killed at least 160 rebel fighters in two weeks of fierce fighting in Saada. The group was first established by Shiite cleric Hussein Badruddin al-Houthi in mid-2004. Hussein was killed in clashes with the army in September 2004. Bloody confrontations between the rebels and the army have since left more than 720 government troops dead, according to the official toll. Hundreds of rebels have also been killed. Government officials have accused the rebels, led by local Shiite leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, of trying to topple the republican regime and establish an Islamic state, saying that 'foreign parties' have been supporting them. Yemeni media reports recently quoted government officials accusing Iran and Libya of financing the rebels. Both states have denied the charge. Posted by: Steve 2007-03-26 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=184107 |