Saudi air strikes target Yemen rebels along the border

Saudi warplanes struck areas controlled by Shiite Muslim rebels along the border with northwestern Yemen, according to the insurgents, who said they killed eight Yemeni soldiers in clashes.

The rebels, known as Houthis after the family of their leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said Saudi jet fighters carried out 25 raids today on the Shada, Ghamr, al-Malahid and al-Dhahir districts of Yemen’s Saada province. Four houses were destroyed and two women injured in the village of al-Farha, the rebels said in a statement. Bloomberg

U.S. urging a major role for Saudi in Yemen

The Obama administration is urging a major role for Saudi Arabia in an emerging international effort to stabilize Yemen, said U.S. and European officials involved in the diplomacy.
In doing so, the White House risks relying on an ally whose interests in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula don’t always align with Washington’s.
One difference has already arisen: While Riyadh continues a military campaign against insurgents based inside Yemen’s northern border with Saudi Arabia, the U.S. on Wednesday called for political dialogue in the conflict with the rebel group, the Houthis. The U.S. coordinates closely with Saudi Arabia in combating Iranian influence across the Middle East, but U.S. officials say they’ve received no intelligence to back Riyadh’s claims that Iran is arming and funding the Houthi. WSJ

17 rebels 8 soldiers die in fierce fighting in north Yemen

Seventeen rebels and eight Yemeni soldiers were killed in fierce fighting in the north of the country, a military source told AFP on Monday.
“There was fierce fighting in the (northern) city of Saada on Sunday. Seventeen Houthis (rebels) and eight Yemeni soldiers were killed,” the source said.
The rebels, also known as Zaidis, said in a statement posted on Monday on their website that clashes were still underway in Saada where they claimed the army was using bulldozers to “destroy” property. “The army is undertaking to destroy the city” of Saada, the statement said. “It is using bulldozers to destroy houses, mosques and historical buildings.” Daily Times

Yemen rebels: When war stops we’ll be ready to talk

Shiite rebels battling government forces in north Yemen told AFP on Saturday they are ready for talks with Sanaa once the government declares a “definitive” end to hostilities against them.
“When the war stops we will be ready for dialogue,” Mohammed Abdelsalam told AFP in Dubai by telephone, adding that he was reacting to an appeal from President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In an article published on Friday to mark the new year, Saleh appealed for reason from the insurgents. AFP

73 Saudis killed since fighting broke out with Yemen rebels

73 Saudis have been killed and 26 are missing since fighting broke out in November between Saudi forces and Yemeni rebels, a Saudi minister told reporters on Tuesday.
“The confrontation on the southern border” has resulted in “73 martyrs and 26 missing,” said Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan in comments broadcast on television from a media conference in Al-Khoba in southern Jizan province.
He did not specify how many of the dead and missing were soldiers.
Last month, Saudi Arabia launched a military offensive against the Shi’ite rebels, known as Houthis after their leader’s clan name, after a rebel cross-border incursion.

Air strike kills 70 in Yemen

The rebels in the north of the country Yemen claimed that Saudi Arabia air force has bombed a market in Yemen killing 70 civilians, rebels in the north of the country.
The rebels, known as Houthis, have been fighting Saudi and Yemeni forces since August this year and accuse the Saudis of frequent attacks across the border.
Bani Maan, the village hit by the air raid is in the border region between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
The Yemeni army has reportedly claimed it carried out the attack, not Saudi Arabian forces.
A spokesman for the Yemen’s army, Askar Zuail, told AFP that the Saudis were not involved.
“Bani Maan is one of the most fortified rebel strongholds. Today Yemeni aircraft launched a number of air raids, killing many Houthis,” he said. Source: BBC