By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
SA’NAA, Yemen – Fighting between Saudi forces and Houthi fighters on the border with Yemen has ended, Saudi officials have said. Prince Khaled bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister, said on Wednesday that his forces had achieved a “clear victory over the enemy” on the Yemen-Saudi border.
“They did not withdraw. They have been forced out,” said Prince Khaled bin Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs. Prince Khaled’s statement was the first response from a Senior official after Yemeni rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced Monday the voluntary withdrawal of his fighters.
Saudi ground forces and warplanes have pounded Houthi militants since the rebels killed a Saudi border guard and infiltrated a string of villages in early November. The fighting which led to fear of wider regional chaos, drew the kingdom into a sporadic 5-year old conflict between insurgents and Yemeni government
The leader of the Houthi rebel group said that his fighters were withdrawing from Saudi Arabia after three months of fighting along the border. Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi offered a ceasefire in a message posted on the Internet on Monday January 24, saying he wanted to prevent further civilian casualties.
Houthi forces entered Saudi Arabia in November after making accusation that the government in Riyadh was aiding the Yemeni in their campaign against the rebels. Fighting between members of the minority Shi’ite Zaydi sect and the state has occurred sporadically since 2004. The rebels accuse the Yemeni government of social, economic and religious marginalization.
Western powers and Yemen’s neighbors fear the growing chaos in the impoverished Arab country could allow al-Qaeda to strengthen its operations there, spreading instability across the region and beyond
For more information, please see:
Arab News – ‘Infiltrators Chased Out of Country’ – 28 January 2010
Al-Jazeera – Saudi-Houthi Border Fighting Ends – 27 Wednesday 2010
Los Angeles Times – Saudis Say Fighting with Yemen Insurgents Ceased – 28 January 2010
BBC News – Saudi Troops ‘Forced Yemen Rebels from Their Soil’ – 27 January 2010
Reuters – Saudi Says Achieved Victory Over Yemen Rebels – 28 January 2010
