Don't Miss Jawa Co-Blogger and Yemen Expert Jane Novak's article on a possible peace deal in Yemen via The Arab American News:

The Sa'ada war in northern Yemen may be coming to a close. The Yemeni government announced on June 15 that a cease-fire had been negotiated through the good offices of the Emir of Qatar. Shi'a rebels agreed to lay down their arms after nearly three years of fighting. Hopes are high that an end to hostilities will allow immediate assistance to over a half a million Yemenis in Sa'ada province adversely affected by the fighting.

The rebellion began in 2004 led by cleric Hussain al-Houthi. According to government officials, the rebels aimed to re-institute the Shi'a theocracy overthrown by North Yemen's republican revolution in 1962. After Hussain was killed in 2004, leadership of the movement transferred to his brother, Abdelmalik al-Houthi. The rebels, known as the Houthis, say they oppose Yemen's alliance with the U.S. and regime corruption.

Yemeni officials repeatedly accused both Libya and Iran of funding the rebellion situated on the Yemeni-Saudi border. An informed source maintains that the Houthis received millions of dollars from an African country. Monetary transfers intended for the rebels began in the summer of 2006 and continued into 2007, the source claims. This and other reports of foreign meddling raised the specter of the bloody rebellion spiraling into a proxy war between regional heavyweights with hundreds of thousands of Yemeni civilians caught in the middle....

Posted by: Howie at 09:43 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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