Tension continues in northern Yemen, where a truce was called in February between the government and the Houthi rebels. 

The interior ministry said yesterday that rebels attacked the home of Ibn Aziz, a tribal leader in Harf Sufyan, killing three people. Ibn Aziz, who survived the attack, is a Zaidi Shia (like the rebels) but he took the government's side during the recent conflict.

Reuters quotes a rebel spokesman as saying: "Ibn Aziz was behind several assassinations of our followers and has caused the death of a number of citizens. He is the one who started the fighting against us."

Last month, Abd al-Malik al-Houthi, the rebels' leader,complained that the government had not released prisoners as promised on May 22, when President Salih announced an amnesty.

"Instead of releasing our fellow citizens in line with President Salih's amnesty, security authorities in the government are launching new arrest campaigns against our men," al-Houthi said.

It is thought that no more than 800 prisoners have been released out of a total of around 3,000 covered by the president's announcement.

In the official report of his May 22 speech, Salih referred very clearly to "all detainees held in connection with the Houthi rebellion". I criticised this at the time (on the grounds that arbitrarily releasing prisoners undermines the rule of law) and suggested that any detainees who are seriously believed to have committed violent offences should be put on trial. That is what the authorities have now apparently decided to do: "Gunmen arrested on battlegrounds or masterminds of the rebellion will be referred to the competent courts," a security source told IRIN. 

In the light of that, Salih's announcement of a general amnesty looks even more reckless. It raised false hopes among the rebels and is now providing them with a further grievance.

IRIN quotes Mohammed al-Dhahri, a political science professor at Sanaa University, as saying: "The fact that the government hasn’t released detained Houthis as promised will only make the fragile situation escalate ... Fresh clashes are anticipated as the real causes of the problem remain unresolved and promises unfulfilled."

Meanwhile, in what appeared to be another separatist attack in southern Yemen, an intelligence officer has been shot dead by two men on a motorbike in Zinjibar (reports: DPA and AFP). Another member of the intelligence services was wounded. 

The dead man is thought to be the fourth security official killed in Abyan province during the last few weeks.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 3 July 2010.