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YEMEN SHIAA REBELS FIGHT SAUDI FORCES
 Saada Rebels in northern Yemen claimed, on Thursday 10/22/2009, they have clashed with Saudi forces at the site of building work for a fence along the border between the two countries. There was no immediate response from Saudi authorities.
A statement on the Saada Rebels website said there were a number of deaths and injuries on both sides. They accused Saudi Arabia of supporting the Yemeni government.
The group accused Saudi forces of firing on them in the same area, on Monday 10/19/2009, in support of a Yemeni government offensive. A Yemeni government official told AP news agency that the claim of Saudi involvement in the ongoing conflict was a lie.
The rebels condemned the building of the barrier on the Saudi border: "Residents of the area reject any fence which would have a negative economic impact on them and cut them off from their brethren on the other side," the statement said.
Yemeni officials accuse the rebels in the north of the country of wanting to re-establish Shiaa clerical rule, and of receiving support from Iran.
Saudi Arabia is building a 160 km what they called “security fence” on the Saudi-Yemeni border, mainly to stop Al Qaeda supporters to infiltrate Saudi Arabia or to flee from Saudi Arabia to Yemen (see - Shootout 10.13.09). The fence stretches in Yemen territory, in some places as deep as 10 km inside Yemen, which anger the Shiaa tribes living in Northern Yemen.
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23/10/2009 07:28:47
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