SANAA, 23 July 2004 — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has ordered government forces to suspend attack on strongholds of a the radical preacher Hussein Badruddin Al-Houthi to give the “last chance” for the besieged man and his followers to surrender, official sources said yesterday.

Citing military officials, the Defense Ministry magazine 26 September said Saleh “gave his orders to the Defense Ministry to halt the military operations in Marran district,” in the northern province of Saada, where hundreds of government troops are surrounding hide-outs of the fugitive cleric.

The move aimed at giving the “last chance for religious scholars to go to the besieged rebel to persuade him to surrender to the army’s Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Muhammad Al-Qassimi, who is overseeing the operations in Saada,” the paper said.

If he gives himself up, the religious leader would be put on trial, said the newspaper, which is close to office of the Yemeni president.

Presidential sources told Arab News that Saleh had appointed a mediation team that included religious scholars with links to Al-Houthi, and asked them to meet with Al-Houthi.

The move is the latest in efforts put by tribal chieftains and clerics to convince Al-Houthi to give up. Two rounds of negotiations with the cleric last month ended to a deadlock, after the man made it clear that he would rather fight than surrender.

Authorities accuse Al-Houthi, a former MP and ideologue of the Zaidi Shiite sect, of leading an armed rebellion and violence through organizing protests against the United States and Israel.

Government forces backed by tanks, artillery and helicopters surrounded Al-Houthi’s mountainous strongholds in Marran on June 21 and launched a massive assault on his armed followers, estimated to number over 1,000. More than 200 people, including over 40 soldiers were killed since the clashes erupted, according to official estimates.

On Saturday, Saleh accused “foreign forces” of backing and inspiring Al-Houthi. “I point my finger directly to foreign forces. He (Al-Houthi) is but a tool at the hands the foreign forces,” Saleh said in a speech marking his 26 years in power. “It is the work of foreign intelligence. It is not a sectarian strife nor a rivalry for power.”

18 Killed in Blast

Meanwhile, a powerful explosion shattered a residential building in a northern Yemeni town, killing 18 people late on Wednesday evening.

Initial investigations showed that TNT explosives stored in the three-storey building’s basement went off, reducing the building to rubble and severely damaging surrounding houses, police said.

“There was a large amount of explosives under the building,” a police official said. “Investigators found traces of TNT explosives in the wreckage.”

Contractors in rural areas of Yemen often use TNT to build roads through mountainous terrain. The blast occurred in Hababa, 80 km north of the capital Sanaa, at around 11:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Wednesday. The force of the explosion scattered concrete debris up to one km away. Rescue workers pulled out 18 bodies from the rubble, among them six children. Four injured residents were hospitalized.

Neighbors said the dead included the owner of the building, identified as Yahya Ali Suhail. Tens of volunteers were engaged in the rescue operation, that was hampered by fears that more unexploded ordnances might be lying around. Rescuers used bulldozers to lift the ruins.