AUGUST 8: The joint Yemeni-Saudi military committee met again in Riyadh on August 4, amid continuing efforts to cool the border dispute between the two neighbours.

The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, met President Salih in Yemen on July 28 to discuss the border dispute. This followed a visit to Saudi Arabia by the Yemeni foreign minister, Abd al-Qadir Bagammal on July 25.

However, these moves have not been particularly well received in Yemen. A conference of politicians, journalists, lawyers and academics organised by the Yemen Times called on the Yemeni government to suspend all border talks "until it achieves equitable bargaining conditions."

The independent weekly, al-Ra'y al-'Aam, went even further. In a leading article headed "War - the only solution", it said: "There seems to be no other solution for the yemeni-Saudi border dispute but to go to war. Yemen has honestly and continuously made brotherly gestures and many compromises to Saudi Arabia. But the greed of our "big sister" knows no bounds … Declare general mobilisation and open military training camps for volunteers. Arm four million fighters and send them to purge the Yemeni land."

The latest flare-up in the 60-year-old dispute came on July 20 when, according to Yemen, nine Saudi naval vessels used long-range artillery to attack and occupy al-Duwaima island, killing three Yemenis and wounding nine. Later, Yemen said it had re-captured al-Duwaima, the Red Sea island occupied by the Saudis two days earlier. Officials in Sana'a said Yemeni naval forces landed at dawn on July 22, but later Saudi Arabia denied the claim.

The Saudi attack was perceived by Yemen as highly provocative, and a breach Article 8 of the 1995 Memorandum of Understanding between the two neighbours - though later the Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Nayef bin Abd al-Aziz, claimed his country had acted "in self-defence".

Military incidents between the two neighbours are common. The Yemeni interior minister was quoted as saying: "During one month between June 15 to July 15 Saudi forces perpetrated 73 violations, most of them establishing a presence and opening fire on Yemeni citizens and violating the airspace and sea on our borders … Our Saudi brothers are eating up the land in a big way."

In an earlier incident on May 24-25, Saudi forces moved into a Red Sea archipelago which is also claimed by Yemen. At least seven islands, just over 100 km west of Midi, were involved. According to the Yemeni opposition newspaper, al-Jamahir, the Saudis landed on a small island which was undefended by Yemeni troops and cleared off the eight fishermen they found there. Within 12 hours they began erecting pre-fabricated buildings and installing military positions. The newspaper said they had also occupied a second island in the group and were seeking to evacuate inhabitants from the remainder as a precondition for talks with Yemeni officials.

Geographical names in the area often have several variations. Al-Jamahir (May 28) named the occupied island as "Dhu-Hurab", while the Palestinian newspaper, al-Quds al-Arabi (May 26), referred to it as "Huraym".

Only a small part of the frontier between has Yemen and Saudi Arabia ever been defined [click here for background]. The agreed portion of the land border ends at the Red Sea about 5km north of Midi. Yemen maintains that a north-westerly bend in the line just before it reaches the sea indicates that the maritime border should continue in the same direction. The Saudis, on the other hand, prefer to draw the line in a westerly direction, giving them more of the Red Sea.

The islands occupied last May are south of Yemen's preferred line - suggesting that the Saudis are staking a claim to their own projection of the maritime border.

One possible factor in the renewed tension is the choice of Abd al-Karim al-Iryani as Yemeni prime minister - since he is disliked by the Saudis. The customary congratulations on his appointment last May were not forthcoming from Riyadh.

Since late June, there have been numerous clashes between Yemen's security forces and armed tribes in al-Jawf and Ma'rib - two northern Yemeni provinces bordering Saudi Arabia. The tribes have blown several holes in a pipeline which supplies almost 40% of Yemen's oil. There are strong suspicions among Yemeni politicians that the tribes' action was encouraged, and perhaps funded, by the Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has also informed the United Nations that it does not accept the border agreement signed by Yemen and its eastern neighbour, Oman, six years ago. In a memorandum to the UN General Secretariat last April, the kingdom suggested that it might have a claim to some of the territory covered by the Yemeni-Omani agreement.

The move surprised some diplomats because Riyadh did not formally oppose the border settlement in 1992. It may be linked to the Saudis' desire for an oil corridor to the Arabian Sea, between Yemen and Oman.

Oman's foreign minister, Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, left Saudi Arabia on July 20 after a surprise meeting with Saudi's Crown Prince Abdullah. Oman had earlier protested about the Saudi attitude, arguing that the 1992 deal with Yemen and a 1990 agreement with Saudi Arabia had finalised international boundary issues.

In May, Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz, the Saudi Defence Minister, paid an inspection visit to the border province of Najran, which Yemen ceded to the kingdom under the Treaty of Ta'if in 1934. Many Yemenis regarded the prince's visit as provocative.

According to the Ba'athist newspaper, al-Jamahir (July 17), Saudi authorities recently detained a number of Yemenis for 10 days after they entered the Abha area, which is off-limits to Yemenis. The group were arrested on their way back after delivering goods and were fined 4,000 Saudi riyals each.

AUGUST 8: President Salih has issued a decree imposing the death penalty for "anyone who leads a band of kidnappers or bandits or who loots public or private property". The statement in al-Thawra (the government daily) added: "Accomplices will receive the same punishment."

The decree, issued on August 2, takes effect immediately but will need parliamentary approval after the summer recess. A few days earlier the cabinet approved a draft law which would make kidnapping and hijacking capital offences. The terms of the decree are relativley broad, potentially allowing it to be applied to a wide range of crimes.

On its own, the decree is unlikely to make much difference to kidnapping; the problem up to now has been an inability or reluctance to arrest kidnappers rather than a lack of suitable punishments.

But it does show that the government is beginning to grapple with the kidnapping issue, which, according to the Yemen Times (July 13) has caused a 22% drop in tourism and cost Yemen $28 million in the first half of this year.

The announcement of new penalties was almost certainly timed to coincide with a three-day gathering in Sana’a of tribes from Marib, al-Jawf and Shabwa - provinces where the government often has difficulty in maintaining control.

After the conference, President Salih praised the tribal leaders for their decision to condemn the kidnapping of foreigners. But the full list of conference resolutions shows that the tribes expect a lot from the president in return:

1. Giving these regions' high school graduates priority in getting scholarships;
2. Giving citizens of these governorates priority in employment by petroleum companies operating there;
3. Allocating a specific number of seats at the Military College for young men from this region;
4. Giving the opportunity to unemployed young men to enlist in the army;
5. Giving more opportunity to people from these regions to occupy government posts there;
6. Providing prominent figures in the regions a recognized official status;
7. Resolving the problems of army officers and soldiers suspended from work;
8. Condemning the kidnapping of foreigners;
9. Rejecting accusations of being foreign agents; and
10. Forming a special committee headed by Sheikh Saleh Bin Sowda to follow up implementation of development projects in the region.

AUGUST 25: The death toll in the recent heavy rains and flash floods has now reached more than 70, according to al-Shoura newspaper (23.8.98). Heaviest casualties were in Hodeidah province (25 dead) and Ibb (20 dead).

Hundreds of houses were swept away, including more than 300 in Sana'a - 120 of them in the city itself. In the countryside, large numbers of livestock were drowned and roads in many parts of the country are in a worse state than usual.

The rain has also unearthed land mines which were buried in the south during the 1994 war, and in the Ma'rib area during the 1970s and 1980s. In Dhali', two men died when a bomb which had been uncovered by rain exploded (al-Ayyam 23.8.98).

But the rain brought good news for the Ma'rib dam, which now contains more than 117 million cubic metres of water (al-Ayyam 23.8.98).

WITH Yemen's first direct presidential elections due in little more than a year, the haggling in qat-filled rooms is already under way. The first pre-election talks between President Salih's General People's Congress and the Yemen Socialist Party (supposedly private but widely reported in the press) broke off after several days.

President Salih, who has been in power in Sana'a since 1978, says talk of his candidacy is premature. He may even feign reluctance and have to be "persuaded" by his friends. But who will stand against him?

From unification in 1990 until shortly after the war of 1994, Yemen had a five-member presidential council, elected by parliament. Technically, Ali Abdullah Salih was merely its chairman - though in practice he was much more than that.

On September 29, 1994, parliament approved a series of amendments to the constitution which, among other things, abolished the presidential council and replaced it with a one-man presidency. Two days later, under the new rules, parliament elected Salih as president for a five-year term. He won easily, with 253 votes out of the 259 members present. Representatives of a further 42 constituencies were absent.

Other candidates were:

• Sheikh Abdul Majid Zindani (Islah)
• Ali Saleh Abbad Muqbil (YSP)
• Faisal Bin Shamlan, oil minister (independent)
• Abd al-Wahhab Mahmoud (Socialist Arab Baath)

Under the constitution, subsequent presidential elections will be conducted by a direct vote of the people.

The process has never been tried in Yemen before, and the constitution is not entirely clear about how it should work.

To guarantee a competitive election, the constitution insists that there must be at least two candidates. But that may cause some difficulty because the constitution also says all candidates must be approved by at least 10% of the members of parliament - i.e. 31 members (Article 107). Only two parties - the GPC and Islah - have a sufficient number of seats to do this on their own. The independents might be able to field a candidate if they could agree among themselves on a nomination. The YSP, which boycotted the 1997 parliamentary elections, has no members and cannot field a candidate unless another party does so on its behalf - hence the recent discussions with the GPC.

A problem could arise if Islah decided to boycott the election: the GPC would then be forced to nominate two candidates to compete against each other - which would allow opposition parties to denounce the election as a sham.

However, there is a way to minimise the possibility of a boycott and also ensure a good turn-out: by holding unified Yemen's first local government elections at the same time. That, in effect, would mean that any party boycotting the presidential election would also forfeit its chance for a role in local government.

There is further a question over the likely date of the election. The president's current term lasts for five calendar years from the date the constitutional oath, in this case October 2, 1994 (Article 111). The election must be completed at least one week before the expiry date (Article 113). This suggests an election on Saturday September 25, 1999, but there are a couple of complications. Firstly, it is unclear whether "completion" of the election means just the balloting or the whole process, including the count. In the 1997 parliamentary election, counting took almost a week, so possibly the voting should take place on September 18. Secondly, if no candidate wins an overall majority, the electoral process has to be repeated, between the two candidates with the highest number of votes (Article 107). Ideally, therefore, the election should be held early enough to allow for two separate ballots to be held, and counted, with a week to spare before October 2.

On the other hand, there are circumstances in which the election may be postponed beyond its due date. Parliament (in which the president's party has an overwhelming majority) may delay it for up to 90 days if the election "cannot take place for any reason". Parliament may also approve a delay beyond 90 days "if the country is in a state of war, or suffering a natural disaster or another emergency situation, under which electing the President becomes impossible" (Article 113).

If the current state of insecurity in many parts of the country continues, it would not be difficult to justify postponing the election. However, the record of democratisation since 1990, and the ever-present need for legitimacy suggests President Salih will try to avoid that. He would dearly love to become the first president of Yemen elected directly, competitively, by the people. His victory is almost a foregone conclusion if the election takes place, but it will be a hollow victory unless opposition parties put up a decent fight.

What the president's opponents must decide over the next few months is this: whether, by standing (and inevitably losing) against him, they will simply enhance the president's reputation at their own expense, or whether a truly competitive election - regardless of the outcome - will better serve the long-term interests of democracy in Yemen.

YEMENI television interrupted its normal programmes on October 9 to announce that Yemen has won its dispute with Eritrea over the Hunaish archipelago in the Red Sea.

Eritrean forces seized Greater Hunaish island in December 1995 and, after much diplomatic wrangling, both sides agreed to submit their territorial claims to an international court. A panel of five judges has been holding deliberations in London.

The Yemeni Prime Minister, Dr Abd al-Karim al-Iryani, said "the panel unanimously ruled that the Republic of Yemen had sovereignty over the disputed islands."

A cursory glance at the text of the tribunal's ruling might suggest that the outcome is a compromise. Three paragraphs award territory to Eritrea, two award territory to Yemen, and the sixth paragraph deals with fishing rights. The document is plainly constructed in order to appear even-handed, making the ruling acceptable to both sides.

But what the tribunal has actually done is review sovereignty over all the Red Sea islands that might conceivably be the subject of a dispute between the two countries. It covers the whole area from Jabal al-Tayr (which lies north of Sana'a) to southern rocks roughly on the same lattitude as Ta'izz. Many of these were not, in fact, at issue during the 1995 conflict.

The Zuqar-Hunaish group of islands, which was occupied by Eritrea in 1995 has been returned by the tribunal to Yemen. Eritrea has sovereignty over smaller islands and rocks to the south-west.

The tribunal has not apportioned fishing rights. It says that regardless of sovereignty, the "traditional fishing regime" in the area should remain, with "free access and enjoyment for the fishermen of both Eritrea and Yemen."

The judges' decision is legally binding, and both sides have 90 days to comply.

See: Eritrea and the dispute over Hunaish

SAUDI ARABIA appears to have switched to a more conciliatory approach in its long-running border dispute with Yemen. For a long time, the kingdom has firmly rejected Yemeni suggestions that the issue might be settled by international arbitration. But two recent statements have accepted this as a possibility.

On November 4, Prince Nayef bin Abd al-Aziz, the Saudi Interior Minister, was quoted as saying: "We don't mind resolving all our problems through negotiations or referring suspended issues to the International Court of Justice."

In an interview with the Arab Times newspaper in Kuwait, he also denied that Saudi Arabia is seeking a corridor to the Arabian Sea - a demand that has often been rumoured to be a sticking point in the negotiations. "Saudi Arabia did not think one day about getting a sea port here or there. We had neither talked about this matter nor declared it through the press," the prince said.

Two days later, in an interview with the Saudi Gazette and Okaz, Crown Prince Abdullah also said that arbitration was not ruled out: "We in the kingdom are not against arbitration, if the brothers in Yemen desire that."

According to Yemeni sources, the Saudis have resisted proposals for arbitration because they want changes to the line defined by the Ta'if Treaty - allegedly for security reasons. However, this is only part of the frontier that has ever been agreed and it would be difficult to persuade an arbitration panel to make changes.

Pressure to refer the dispute to arbitration appears to have grown after the International Court's ruling on the Hunaish Islands brought a peaceful - and apparently amicable - end to the border quarrel between Yemen and Eritrea.

The Saudi princes' remarks came shortly after Yemen's Parliamentary Speaker, Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar, predicted that the Yemeni-Saudi dispute "could continue with our grandchildren for tens of years". The sheikh, who is also leader of the main opposition party, Islah, was quoted by al-Ittihad newspaper in Abu Dhabi as saying that arbitration would be "the final resort when we despair from bilateral negotiations". He added: "We are not at this stage yet."

Full background to the border dispute

THE FORMER president of South Yemen, Ali Nasser Mohammed, recently paid a four-day visit to Aden early in November, giving rise to speculation about its purpose.

Ex-president Mohammed, who was deposed in 1986 during a bloody coup involving rival factions of the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), lives in exile in Syria but enjoys reasonably good relations with President Salih.

It is thought that his visit was connected with the fourth general conference of the YSP, scheduled for 28-30 November. According to the independent newspaper, Attariq (17.11.98), he was seeking a reconciliation between the Yemeni leadership and members of the Socialist Party living abroad who wished to attend the conference.

The Yemeni Unitary Congregation's newspaper, Attagamu' (16.11.98) said he was seeking confirmation from President Salih that the general amnesty for socialists (excluding the leaders convicted after the 1994 secession attempt) was still valid. President Salih is believed to have been in Aden at the time of his visit and, according to Attagamu' confirmed the amnesty. On the other hand, Al-Umma (19.11.98), the weekly newspaper of the Haqq party, quoted sources close to ex-President Mohammed as saying that his mediation attempt had failed. 

There was further speculation in Attariq (17.11.98) that Mohammed had brought Salih a request from the president of the United Arab Emirates for information about Yemen's tactics during the recent international arbitration over the Hunaish archipelago. The paper suggested that such information might benefit the UAE in its dispute with Iran over islands in the Gulf. 

Meanwhile Al-Thawri, the Socialist Party newspaper (12.11.98) reported that the Central Committee had met on November 5-7 and completed preparations for the party conference. It said guests invited to attend would include ex-President Mohammed and members of the Russian Communist Party. It added that three Yemen Socialist Party members would be coming from the United States.

THE GOVERNMENT has dropped its prosecution of the Yemen Times over an article which claimed that the country had received $22.5 billion in hard currency over the last 20 years and asked: "Where did it go?" The government prosecutors had claimed that figures given in the article, on November 9, were wrong.

A statement issued by the newspaper on December 4 said: "While we were sure that we would win the case, we did not know that it would last for such a short period.

"Standing up for its rights, Yemen Times challenged that its sources indicate that the numbers were true ... The reliable sources that Yemen Times had were not only supporting the fact that the numbers were true, but they also indicated that the actual number was more frightening than was initially thought (around 5,000,000 more than the given number).

"Feeling ashamed of themselves, and frightened of getting into even more trouble, the government pulled out of its case, surrendering to what is true and honest journalism. This is not a victory for Yemen Times alone. It is the victory of the voice of the truth."

THE YEMEN Socialist Party (YSP) held its first congress for 13 years on November 28-30, signalling what - its leaders hope - will be the start of a revival in the party's fortunes.

The formerly-Marxist YSP came to power in southern Yemen after the British withdrawal in 1967 and ruled the People's Democratic Republic until unification with the north in 1990.

The last party congress in 1985 was marred by a serious rift in the party which brought armed conflict in January 1986. Thousands were killed and President Ali Nasser Mohammed was deposed and - along with many of his supporters - went into exile.

After unification, the YSP government jointly with President Salih's (northern) General People's Congress. Ali Salim al-Baid, the YSP's secretary-general, became vice-president of the unified state.

In the first multi-party elections, in 1993, the YSP lost ground, with its support mainly concentrated in the less-populous south. Fighting broke out between northern and southern forces in 1994, and al-Baid proclaimed a separate state in the south - though it was defeated within a few weeks.

The secession attempt caused further divisions in the YSP, as did the party's decision to boycott the 1997 parliamentary elections.

One of the main goals of the November congress was apparently to heal old wounds. Shortly before the gathering, ex-President Mohammed visited Aden, reportedly seeking confirmation from President Salih that the general amnesty for socialists (excluding the leaders convicted after the 1994 secession attempt) was still valid.

According to reports, 1,351 delegates attended the congress, among them 182 women. Representatives of several other parties, including the ruling General People's Congress party and the main opposition party, Islah, attended the opening session. Leaders of left-wing parties from other parts of the Arab world - Nayef Hawatmeh of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Yusef al-Faisal of the Syrian Communist Party - also attended.

YSP delegates from Hadhramaut province boycotted the congress in protest at the disappearance of Hassan Ba Awm, a member of political bureau, following a demonstration earlier this year.

At the opening session, the YSP's secretary-general, Ali Salih 'Ubad, criticised the government for not taking its calls for reconciliation at face value. He condemned the policy of "exclusion" against the party since the 1994 war. "We are subjected to severe measures, the party is considered illegal, its funds are still blocked and its party offices occupied … We call once again for an end to the policy of exclusion and violence and for respect for the consitution," he said.

Mr 'Ubad called for the return of the exiled leadership, some of whom have been condemned to death in their absence. The final communique from the congress announced that the expulsion of four former leaders from the party was being rescinded. The four are: Ali Salim al-Baid (former secretary-general), Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas (former prime minister), Salih 'Ubaid Ahmad (politburo member) and Salim Salih Mohammed (former assistant secretary-general).

Mr 'Ubad said the party was also in favour of the return of all members who had left it - a reference to ex-President Mohammed and Abd al-Qadr Bagammal (currently Yemen's foreign minister and a member of the GPC).

In an interview with the Yemen Times (7.12.98), Mr 'Ubad said: "We decided that we will let all bygones be bygones, whether it is with our own members or with other members of our society. I challenge the others to start with a clean slate in full co-operation to build Yemen of the 21st century."

But he complained that in holding its congress, his party had been exposed to all kinds of intimidation and blackmail on the part of the authorities. "The political leadership, governors, military and security officers and other senior officals were involved in a sustained effort to tell us what we should do."

President Salih, speaking at a ceremony to mark the 31st anniversary of the British withdrawal from Aden on November 30, described the YSP as "a secessionist party which refuses to modify its old methods." He called on the party to apologise for the war of 1994.

Vice-President Abd al-Rabbu Mansur described the congress as illegitimate on the grounds that the its delegates had not been properly elected because the party structure had been destroyed in 1986.

Meanwhile the government newspaper, October 14, commented: "The YSP is chewing over the past and continues to follow methods of deception, lies and muzzling of mouths … The servants cannot live in a democracy, because they are slaves to the complexes of the past."

The army newspaper, September 26, urged YSP members to abandon Marxist ideology and establish internal party democracy.

ABOUT 150 Yemenis aboard a chartered plane attempted - but failed - to break the UN embargo on flights to Libya on December 9.

The aircraft, an MD-90, chartered from a private Egyptian company, AMC, was carrying a "people's delegation to Libya", including (according to the Yemen Times) members of parliament - some of them from the ruling GPC - sheikhs, and other "Yemeni personalities".

Officials at Sana'a airport, from where the plane took off, said it was originally heading for Cairo and that the passengers were intending to travel from there by land to Sirte, in Libya, where the Libyan General People's Congress was meeting. However, when the plane was in the air passengers demanded to fly directly to Libya.

The pilot landed the plane at Djerba in southern Tunisia (about four hours' drive from Tripoli) where the passengers initially refused to disembark but later went to a waiting room. They then returned to the plane, which refuelled at Cairo before returning to Sana'a.

Tunisian authorities said the passengers claimed the destination in their chartering contract was Tripoli. The incident was therefore not a hijacking, as early reports had suggested, but "a dispute between passengers who hired the plane and the airline company."

THE KIDNAPPING of four German tourists looks set to provide the first real test of the government's new "get tough" policy against tribesmen who take hostages - especially foreign hostages. On December 16 troops were reportedly massing in the area where the Germans - who include three women - were believed to be held, after a deadline passed without their release.

Norbert Degen, Petra Penglista, Rozwita Adlung and Inge Brunner were kidnapped by the Bani Dhabyan tribe near the Yislah pass, 60 km south of Sana'a, as they returned to the capital after a trip. Armed men stopped their car and forced them into another vehicle which drove off to the remote mountain stronghold of Wadi Zinah (120 km south-east of Sana'a) in Marib province. It was the fourth kidnapping by the tribe in the space of 14 months (see Kidnap Chronicle).

On August 4, President Salih issued a decree introducing the death penalty for kidnapping and several other offences after the problem began to have a serious effect on tourism. Simultaneously a tribal conference condemned hostage-taking and for a time it seemed that the incidents had stopped.

More recently, several Yemenis have been abducted and in October two Belgians were held for a few hours by the Ba Kazim tribe - though officials said they did not regard that as a "real kidnapping". The latest incident, therefore, is the first test of the government's resolve to take a harder line where tourists are involved.

The government hopes that the death penalty will deter further kidnappings, but there is a danger that it may simply escalate conflict between the state and tribes. Several members of the Bani Dhabyan have already been arrested (in effect, taken hostage by the state) in order to put pressure on the kidnappers. If the incident ends in executions or a shoot-out, it could assume the character of a blood feud, rumbling on for years.

Dozens of foreigners have been kidnapped in Yemen over the last few years, but all have been released unharmed. This has been due partly to tribal attitudes regarding the treatment of "guests" and partly to the government's willingness to see kidnappings resolved by negotiation. Although nothing is ever publicly admitted, there is speculation that in the past kidnappers' demands (which usually include better basic facilities in their villages) have sometimes been met. The problem with this approach is that it resolves the immediate difficulty but encourages kidnapping in the future.

In this case, the Bani Dhabyan have produced a long list of demands, including schools and health centres, a link it to the water and electricity grids, and also dams and roads. They are also said to want 200 government jobs for young members of their tribe and scholarships to study at Sana'a University and at universities abroad.

SADIK HAMAIEL, a writer/photographer for the Berliner Zeitung, was arrested on December 17 after interviewing four German hostages and their kidnappers from the Bani Dhabyan tribe.

Mr Hamaiel was returning to Sana'a from the hideout in Marib province when he was stopped at a security check-point. As his car tried to get away, there was an exchange of fire in which one of his escorts was wounded, according to the Yemen Times (20.12.98). He was detained by the Interior Ministry.

On December 23 officials said he had been released after agreeing "not to repeat what he had done." He left Yemen on December 27, without his films and taped interviews - all of which were confiscated.

The case is reminiscent of an incident in May when three members of a BBC television team were arrested after interviewing Sheikh Mubarak Ali Saada after the Bani Dhabyan kidnapped a British family. The journalists were later tried under the press law, but were acquitted.

A government-imposed deadline on December 16 passed without the release of the hostages. Meanwhile the authorities have arrested numerous members of the tribe and troops have reportedly shelled several villages.

Sheikh Ahmed Obad Shuraif, chief sheikh of the Bani Dhabyan, recently called tribal leaders to his home to discuss the situation. "Many of my tribesmen filled up my house in Sana'a as they flee government forces trying to arrest them. The government has decided to arrest anybody who belongs to this tribe," he told the Yemen Times.