SANAA, 24 June 2005 — A top aide to the slain rebel preacher Hussein Al-Houthi gave himself up to police in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday, a website run by the ruling GPC party reported.

Quoting a military source, the website said Abdullah Eida Al-Ruzami, a close lieutenant of Al-Houthi, surrendered to security authorities in Sanaa.

The Almotamar.net website quoted a senior military official as saying the surrender of Abdullah Eida Al-Ruzami, a close lieutenant of Al-Houthi, was the result of a mediation led by tribal dignitaries from the northern province of Saada.

Authorities say Ruzami was acting as field commander for Al-Houthi’s armed followers during two waves of bloody fighting with security forces in northern Yemen.

Interior Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

Government forces ended in mid-April an offensive against the followers of Al-Houthi’s father, Badruddin, after capturing their strongholds in Saada, some 250 kilometers north of the capital.