SANAA, 9 August 2004 — Yemeni forces encircled a mountain hide-out yesterday in which a rebel religious leader was believed to be holed up with a handful of his supporters, but he apparently escaped.

Tribal sources said the fugitive cleric Hussein Badruddin Al-Houthi fled the northern province of Saada, where his armed followers have been battling military forces for more than six weeks ago.

A website run by the Defense Ministry said government forces were expected to capture Al-Houthi “within the next few hours” and that “his lair was detected”.

Citing official sources, the website said Al-Houthi was hiding in a cave with 80 followers “all disguised in military uniforms”, and that he was “trying to flee, but government forces are encircling him”.

However, tribal sources told Arab News that the preacher had managed to escape out of the Saada province, located about 250 kilometers north of the capital Sanaa.

Tribal chieftains said the army and security forces were involved in sporadic clashes with Al-Houthi followers late yesterday, mainly in the Hamazat and Al-Ashraf districts of Saada.

Local officials in Saada confirmed the clashes and said authorities believe the resistance in the two districts was being directed by Al-Houthi’s deputy, Abdullah Al-Rezami.

One official said around 100 rebels were arrested in raids on “pockets” of Al-Houthi men in the two districts.

What started as an attempt to rein in the charismatic religious leader, who has carved out a fiefdom in the Jabal Maran mountains outside Saada, was beginning to resemble all-out war.

Government troops fought with Al-Houthi’s followers for the fourth consecutive day yesterday, using warplanes and artillery. The six-week conflict has killed more than 600 soldiers and rebels.

In the latest upsurge of fighting, skies in the area lit up and balls of fire could be seen rising toward the sky as troops fired artillery and Katyusha rockets overnight. Officials in Saada said the death toll from five days of fighting rose to over 100, both from the military and the rebels, and 62 others were wounded.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Al-Houthi’s followers on Saturday ambushed a patrol north of Saada, killing four soldiers and wounding three others.

Yemen’s army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ali Al-Qassimi, said yesterday that troops were still pursuing Al-Houthi. He refused to provide casualty figures or provide other details.

More than 2,000 soldiers are involved in the battle, and the government also has recruited armed tribesmen from elsewhere to fight Al-Houthi’s followers.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Saleh of the Saada security forces said yesterday his troops were involved in fierce clashes with Al-Houthi’s supporters, and were able to push them back and take hold of key positions close to the mountains.

Military officials, requesting anonymity, said 85 of Al-Houthi’s men were arrested, and 20 were later released. They said it was likely that some of his followers had escaped and were hiding in areas controlled by tribesmen.

The government accuses Al-Houthi of sedition, attacking government buildings and security forces, forming an illegal armed group and inciting people not to pay taxes. A $55,000 bounty for his capture has been placed on his head.

Al-Houthi, a one-time political aspirant and a former MP in Yemen who is in his early 50s, has wide religious and tribal backing in this impoverished country and has long opposed US involvement in Middle Eastern affairs and Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians.

His fierce anti-US positions — fomented through mosque speeches and demonstrations — have caused problems for Yemen’s government, which has turned to the United States for military training and assistance to safeguard its borders from infiltration by militants.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh recently ordered a temporary halt to military operations against Al-Houthi to give mediators a chance. But the fighting persisted after the scholar refused to surrender.

Negotiations broke down after the government rejected Al-Houthi’s conditions for his surrender.

These included Al-Houthi’s desire to be able to continue inciting violence against the United States and Israel; to change Yemen’s school curriculum to reflect his opposition to America and non-Muslims; for Yemeni forces to withdraw from the area; and the government to compensate him, his fighters and local residents for damage caused during the clashes.

The government maintains it is pursuing Al-Houthi as an outlaw and not because he is Shiite. The cleric is a respected leader of the Zaidi branch of Shiite community.

Shiites represent about 30 percent of the Yemeni population and generally do not face any discrimination from government agencies.

— Additional input from agencies