SANAA, 21 July 2004 — The Yemeni opposition Islamist Al-Islah party yesterday denounced all attempts to harm national unity, amid ongoing clashes between supporters of a rebel Muslim preacher and the armed forces.
Yemen’s political forces should “block the road to all attempts to harm the social fabric and national unity,” the party’s central committee said in a statement.
The party, headed by tribal chief and Parliament Speaker Sheikh Abdullah ibn Hussein Al-Ahmar, was commenting on fighting since June 18 between the army and an estimated 3,000 armed supporters of Hussein Badruddin Al-Houthi.
The unrest has left about 300 dead on both sides as Al-Houthi, who has refused to surrender, remains besieged in his mountain stronghold of Maran in the northern Saada province.
While calling on the government to show “transparency” in its handling of security matters, Al-Islah warned against “extremism... in all its forms.”
Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh vowed on Sunday his forces would stand their ground in the uprising by the self-styled cleric.
