SANAA, 2 April 2005 — Six soldiers and three supporters of a slain anti-US preacher were killed yesterday in clashes that began six days ago in the mountain region of northern Yemen.
Security officials said armed followers of Hussein Badruddin Al-Houthi, who was killed by government forces last year, attacked a military post in the in the Kahlan area of Saada province, 250 km north of Sanaa, killing six soldiers and injuring 13 others.
Three of the attackers were killed in a heavy exchange of fire that lasted more than half an hour, said the officials. They said five other dissidents were arrested.
Local sources in Saada said insurgents fired a missile at a military vehicle near a checkpoint, setting it a blaze. It was not clear whether the attack left casualties.
Violent confrontations between government forces and heavily armed supporters of Al-Houthi first broke out in last June and ended with his death on Sept. 10. The fighting, that lasted for more than ten weeks left more than 400 soldiers and rebels dead.
The clashes renewed last Monday after authorities said members of Al-Houthi’s outlawed group of “Believing Youth” attacked military and police buildings.
In Sanaa, Defense Ministry sources said yesterday that the government forces have made significant advances in their pursuit after the militants, giving no further details.
Local sources, however, said tribal dignitaries were trying to launch a mediation to end the clashes. About 50 people from both sides have been killed since the clashes renewed on March 28.
Authorities say the insurgents are acting under the command of slain cleric’s father, Badruddin Al-Houthi.
Authorities in Sanaa have accused Hussein Al-Houthi, a former MP and an ideologue of Yemen’s Zaidi community, of setting up an underground armed group and inciting violent protests against the United States and Israel.
