Yemen welcomes Nasrallah call for cease-fire
The Source: sabanews,net - 19/09/2009
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An official source welcomed on Saturday a call of Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Lebanese Hezbollah, for a cease-fire in the northern Yemeni province of Saada.
In a statement to Saba, the source said "while we appreciate Nasrallah's call for a cease-fire and his eagerness to avoid further bloodshed, we assure him that the war in Saada has been imposed on the government which is always and still keen to resort to all peaceful options in order to avoid a war". The sources added that the government had formed many committees to persuade the rebels to desist from carrying out terrorist acts, sabotage and attacking citizens and army and security forces, "but those elements remained on the reckless and continued carrying out acts of murder and sabotage and destruction of public and private enterprises, forcing the official bodies to take responsibilities for suppressing this rebellion". "These rebel elements must commit to the points announced by the government for stopping military operations and preventing bloodshed", the source added. Last August, the government announced six conditions for a ceasefire in the area but it seems the defiant rebels have not yet accepted the conditions.
The truce conditions are:
1- Full withdrawal from all Saada districts and eliminating all checkpoints from all roads.
2 - Coming down from mountain peaks and ending banditry and sabotaging.
3 - Giving back all military and public equipment seized during battles with the troops.
4 - Establishing the fate of six foreigners, a German family comprising of parents and three children and a Briton, who all available information suggest were kidnapped by the rebels in June.
5 - Handing over kidnapped Saada locals.
6 - Stopping interference in the local government's responsibilities.
Al- Houthi rebels have been launching intermittent wars against the troops since 2004 in the northern governorate of Sa'ada, which located close to border with Saudi Arabia. Since then, thousands of people, soldiers and insurgents have been killed in the governorate after the rebel
group was founded by rebel leader Hussein al- Houthi.
The Yemeni government accuses the Houthi group of trying to reinstall the rule of imams.
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