You have commented 338 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Arabia
Yemen Shiite Rebels Agree to Stop Fighting in Sanaa
2014-09-20
[AnNahar] Yemeni Iranian catspaws agreed Friday to stop fighting Islamists and troops north of Sanaa which has killed dozens this week, in their campaign for a new government and greater political clout.

The fighting became so intense that, by Friday, international airlines suspended flights in and out of the nearby airport and state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
stopped broadcasting after coming under fire.

"Rebel chief Abdelmalik al-Huthi designated two of his deputies to sign a deal in Sanaa in the coming hours, or tomorrow," a negotiator linked to U.N.-sponsored peace efforts told journalists in Huthi's northern stronghold of Saada.

Details were not immediately available on the deal, which appeared to be the fruit of discussions U.N. envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar has had with Huthi since flying to Saada on Wednesday.

Government representatives also participated in those talks.

The northern area of Sanaa where the airport is located was the scene of fierce festivities on Thursday in which nearly 40 people on both sides were killed, according to various sources.

The rebels, known as Huthis or Ansarullah, appear more determined than ever to step up military pressure on Sanaa to secure their demands: a new government and more power for their community.

The Civil Aviation Authority, in a statement issued overnight, had said international carriers had suspended flights to Sanaa for 24 hours because of the latest violence.

But Turkish and Jordanian aircraft that were already en route before the suspension came into effect were able to land at night and leave again, the official Saba news agency reported.

"Arab and foreign airlines have decided to suspend their flights to Sanaa for 24 hours because of developments in the capital," said the statement carried by Saba.

The move could be extended or reconsidered depending on the security situation.

The rebels, who have been camped north of Sanaa for weeks, belong to the Zaidi Shiite community, a minority in mainly Sunni Yemen but a majority in the remote northern highlands.

They have battled the government for years from their heartland of Saada, complaining of marginalization since the rule of now toppled autocratic president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
This week, they rejected an offer from President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to name a new prime minister and reduce a controversial fuel price rise, two of their core demands.

Analysts say they are trying to establish themselves as the main political force in the region.

The wave of violence intensified Thursday with the advance of rebels on Shamlan suburb north of the capital, and through the night on Thalathin Street linking the area to Imam University, which is run by Sunni fundamentalists.

Fighting then spread to the offices of Yemen's state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
, which was hit by mortar fire, and the three channels were off the air Friday.

The authorities said the rebels managed to advance and "take control of positions of the security forces and the army at Shamlan" and along Thalathin Street.

The country's high security commission warned the rebels to withdraw, with a front man quoted on Saba as saying "legal action... will be take to recapture these positions".

Early Friday, residents said government forces managed to reclaim some of the positions they lost earlier.

Benomar has been pressing Huthi to ease the crisis and met him late into the night without any initial success, sources close to the negotiations said.

Representatives of President Hadi were also holding separate talks with Huthi in Saada.

Hadi has already agreed to involve the rebels in the formation of a new government to replace the unpopular administration that imposed austerity measures, including a fuel price hike, earlier this year.

But the rebels are also demanding posts in key state institutions.

The crisis has exacerbated an already difficult transition since Saleh's ouster, which has also seen mounting secessionist sentiment in the formerly independent south and persistent attacks on the security forces by Al-Qaeda.
Ynet reports on the situation immediately before the fighting stopped:
Fierce fighting in Yemeni capital kills 120

Iranian catspaws and Sunni Death Eaters battled in the streets of the Yemeni capital for a second day Friday in fighting that has killed at least 120 people, driven thousands from their homes and virtually shut down the country's main airport. The battles are raising fears of greater sectarian conflict, unseen for decades in Yemen.

Yemen has been chronically unstable for years. But its main fight has been by the government against al-Qaeda bully boyz who operate in the south and the mountainous center of the country.

In the past few months, however, the Iranian catspaws known as the Hawthis have become one of the country's most powerful players. They surged from their stronghold in the north, taking a string of cities and have fought to the capital, Sanaa.
Posted by:trailing wife

00:00