SANAA: The rebel commander in Yemen has agreed to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s terms for an end to a four-year conflict that cost thousands of lives.
In a letter to Saleh, Abdul Malak Al-Houthi said he was “committed to the 10 points set by the president” for an end to fighting in the northwestern province of Saada, said the September 26 website of the Defense Ministry.
These include a cease-fire, the reopening of blocked roads and an end to armed manifestations, it said.
The rebels would come down from the mountains where they have been holed up and hand over their heavy and medium weapons to the authorities.
They would release military personnel and civilians abducted during the conflict. Gunmen from outside Saada would return to their home regions and the entire province would come under government control, the website said.
Al-Houthi “declared in his letter that he and his followers are fully committed to preserving security and stability in Saada ... and that they are part of the (Yemeni) people with the same rights and duties,” it said.
Saleh announced on July 17 that the revolt that broke out in 2004 was over, but there has been no confirmation from Al-Houthi, and local military and tribal sources have since reported sporadic clashes between government forces and rebels in the area.
A tribal source close to Al-Houthi told AFP last week that the rebels’ field commander had agreed with the president on halting clashes in Saada’s Marran mountains and the locality of Harf Sufian in Amran province, south of Saada.
But the source said rebels were still carrying out attacks in several parts of Saada as part of efforts to regain outposts they previously lost to the army. He said the rebels were still holding a number of soldiers and police prisoner.
Another tribal source said some rebels were also carrying out revenge attacks against tribesmen who backed the army and whom they describe as “agents.” The two sides signed a Qatari-brokered peace deal in June 2007, but there has been repeated wrangling about its implementation. In February they met again in Qatar to revive the deal.
More recently, a three-member committee comprising a politician close to Al-Houthi and two tribal notables from Saada has been mediating between the rebels and the government.
