Yemeni Houthis look to Saudi Arabia for PEACE - Yemen admits to receiving US military aid
My Name
Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:18:36 GMT
Houthi fighters
http://www.presstv.ir/photo/20100101/fazeli20100101114035468.jpg
Yemen's Houthi fighters have expressed readiness to hold
peace talks with neighboring Saudi Arabia if Riyadh halts
its attacks.
The Houthi fighters also released a statement that says
they'll also halt operations against Saudi Arabia if the
country ceases its attacks.
"If Saudi aggression stops and there is a real will towards
security and stability... then we do not attack anyone that
does not attack us," the Houthi fighters said on their
website on Thursday.
"We reiterate ... our support for dialogue and a language of
understanding to resolve all differences," they added.
According to the Houthis, Saudi Arabia must prove that it
wants peace and stability in Yemen, and that it respects the
rights of the Yemeni people.
The conflict in northern Yemen began in 2004 between Sana'a
and the Houthi fighters. The conflict intensified in August
2009 when the Yemeni army launched Operation Scorched Earth
in an attempt to crush the fighters in the northern province
of Sa'ada.
The government accuses the fighters of breaking the terms of
a ceasefire by taking foreign visitors hostage in 2009.
The Houthis on the other hand accuse the Yemeni government
of the violation of their civil rights, their political,
economic and religious marginalization as well as large-
scale corruption.
Riyadh joined Yemen's offensive against the Houthi fighters
in November and vowed to continue its raids.
The fighters accuse Riyadh of targeting civilian areas far
from the Saudi-Yemeni border. They say the attacks have so
far left scores of civilians dead and thousands of others
displaced.
As the Yemeni government does not allow independent media
into the conflict zone, there are no clear estimates
available as to how many people have been killed since the
beginning of the unrest in 2004 or in the recent wave of
violence.
HRF/JG/DT
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115098§ionid=351020206
Yemen admits to receiving US military aid
Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:59:19 GMT
Yemen has admitted to receiving military aid from the United
States, saying Washington is providing the Yemeni armed
forces with war equipment and training.
http://www.presstv.ir/photo/20100101/shamseddin20100101165754140.jpg
"The United States helps Yemen train its counter-terrorism
and coastguard forces and provide some military equipment,"
government spokesman Tariq al-Shami said on Friday.
He added that Washington, which enjoys great intelligence
capacities in the region thanks to its satellites, has also
been sharing information with Sana'a.
The revelation comes despite the Yemeni government's
insistence in the past that it was only receiving technical
assistance and information to fight what it describes as an
al-Qaeda network operative in the beleaguered Arab nation.
Sana'a has also been denying US media reports saying the CIA
was behind the military operations on Yemeni soil and that
the US military carried out the airstrikes and raids in
December, killing more than 60 people.
Although Sana'a and Washington claim the attacks are aimed
at weeding out al-Qaeda-linked militancy in the country,
local officials and witnesses in southern Yemen say the
raids, targeted a large number of civilians.
Reports indicate US involvement in the ongoing Yemeni-Saudi
offensive against Yemen's Shia Houthi fighters in the north
of the country.
The Houthis accuse the United States of providing aerial
support to Sana'a and claim the military is using US-made
weapons to bomb civilian areas in northern Yemen.
While international bodies remain concerned over the deaths
of hundreds and the displacement of tens of thousands Yemeni
civilians, analysts criticize the Western media for showing
no interest in covering the developments in the area.
"It is a neglected area as a matter of fact. That part of
the world is not very important to many. Of course it is
important to the inhabitants of the region," former Syrian
presidential advisor George Jabour told Press TV.
"Media has never held an objective on what to cover and what
not to cover," he noted, referring to a bigger share of
media coverage for Afghanistan and Iraq.
MRS/HGH
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115112§ionid=351020206
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