Archive: yemen

23rd November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Al-Jazeera is reporting that Saudi ground forces have entered Yemen in what seems to be a large-scale offensive. A statement from the Houthi rebels said: "The Saudis began an attack along many fronts on the Yemeni border ... The Saudi army has been using all kind of weapons; land, air, tanks, and… Read more
23rd November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Just days after King Abdullah "confirmed" that "all armed infiltrators" had been driven out of the kingdom, Saudi forces have suffered their heaviest casualties since entering the war against Yemen's Houthi rebels. Three soldiers were killed and an unspecified number wounded in an attack by "dozens… Read more
12th November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Suddenly, just about everyone (at least among the Sunni elements in the Middle East) is lining up to support Yemen and Saudi Arabia in their war with the Houthi rebels – even al-Qaeda.  “We have a war of rhetoric and a lot of people with vested interest want to make this into a proxy fight [against… Read more
11th November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Yemen’s Houthi rebels drew up a plan two years ago to establish a Shia state embracing parts of northern Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia, according to one of the movement’s former leaders quoted in the Yemen Post. The state would include all of Saada province together with large areas of al-Jawf,… Read more
10th November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Saudi Arabia has now admitted what the Houthi rebels have long claimed and the Yemeni government has long denied: it is engaged in cross-border military action in Yemen. The admission, which was possibly accidental, came when Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the deputy defence minister, visited troops in… Read more
10th November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Yemen's Houthi rebels have released a video purporting to show a captured Saudi soldier, one of several they claim to be holding after last week's fighting. "The rebels identified the man, who is seen receiving medical attention in the video, as Ahmed Abdullah Mohammed al-Amri," al-Jazeera reports… Read more
8th November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
One serious question that arises from last week’s fighting between Saudi forces and the Yemeni-based Houthi rebels is whether the “infiltrators” have any support inside the kingdom. The Saudi authorities certainly seem to be taking no chances. Under the reassuring headline “Situation under total… Read more
7th November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Saudi Arabia continued its air strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels yesterday but insisted all the attacks were confined to Saudi territory. Similar air strikes on Thursday were widely reported to have included targets inside Yemen. Two videos posted on the internet (here and here) purport to show… Read more
5th November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Saudi forces hit back relentlessly at Yemen's Houthi rebels earlier today with fighter jets and artillery. The attack followed a border incident on Tuesday when rebels crossed into Saudi territory, killing at least one soldier, and apparently seized an area known as Jabal al-Dukhan. Saudi forces… Read more
5th November 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
President Salih has ordered Yemen's military to "put an end to the battles with the Houthi insurgents within 10 days",according to the Yemen Post.  Whether this is a realistic prospect, or whether it will simply open an even more bloody phase in the conflict, remains to be seen. In a speech on… Read more