'100 rebels' dead at roadside

This has been widely reported elsewhere, so I’ll just note it for the record. 

The Yemeni government says the bodies of 100 Houthi rebels have been found on roadsides around Harf Sufyan. "It seems these are members who had attempted to escape from the fierce fighting in Sufyan city and were chased down," a statement said. Two rebel leaders, Mohsen Hadi al-Qaoud and Saleh Jarman, are said to have been killed. 

So far there is no comment on this from the rebels. It may well be true, but 100 seems a remarkably round number and I wonder how the government is so sure that all the dead were rebels and not fleeing civilians.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 24 August 2009.