Mohamed Al-Asaadi worries that Yemen may be the only "two-state solution" around Almost every morning people are hit with waves of disturbing news and more victims are added to the list. Yemen is struggling with a rebellion in the north, an expanding secessionist movement in the south, and growing disappointment among people nationwide. In the south, Al-Ahram Weekly learnt that at least four soldiers were killed Tuesday morning in a trap set by insurgents of Sheikh Tareq Al-Fadhli in the province of Abyan. The incident is most likely a response by Al-Fadhli to the National Security Committee that asked him to leave the country in three days, according to local observers. Al-Fadhli, a prominent secessionist leader, was a member of the national Consultative Council appointed by Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Al-Fadhli rejected the demand that he leave saying he will continue mobilising the people of the south to seek their independence from the occupying regime of Sanaa. Last Thursday, eight Yemeni citizens were reported killed and 18 others wounded including six policemen and a security officer in Zinjubar as a result of confrontation between the armed followers of Al-Fadhli and security forces. The opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), however, estimated that at least 20 people died and 30 were injured. All national and local entities condemned the massacre and called for an immediate investigation into the incident. The JMP issued a statement holding the government responsible for the incident and for disclosing the reality of the "massacre". "The security forces should show responsibility towards the massacre that left this number of victims," said the statement by the coalition. In the north, the local authorities in Saada province accused the insurgents of Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi of attacking an army patrol, killing one army officer and three soldiers last week. More causalities were reported during the past few days as a result of fierce clashes between government forces and rebels in the mountainous districts of Al-Mahadir and Al-Ammar, both in Saada. Reporters have been banned from the north since fighting broke out in 2004. The spokesperson of Al-Houthi confirmed that they killed and arrested around 20 soldiers in the past few days. In addition they claimed they have bombed an army tank, confiscated cannons and military vehicles. The Houthis accused the army of assaulting civilians and of massive deployment, which was ruled out by local authorities. Although the presidential committee in charge of mitigating the conflict in Saada said it was able to halt the confrontations, the rebels continue to prevent people from harvesting their crops, causing severe hardship, according to Saada council leader Mohamed Al-Emad. Mohamed Al-Daheri, a citizen from Saada, told the Weekly the army blocks access to and exit from Saada. "There is no way to prevent a sixth round of war," he said. "We know that all circumstances confirm that the clashes are ongoing and both parties are preparing to fight -- if they are not already in a state of war." The challenge ahead of the presidential committee now is to bring the situation back to normal and ensure security on the roads to and from Saada, according to the opposition coalition, which condemned the bloodshed in Saada and other parts of the country. The Houthis have been at war with government forces five times since 2004, when thousands of people from both sides were killed and injured, and huge loses were reported. Hundreds of people are still displaced and live in refugee camps in safe areas around Saada. In the past the rebels were able to bring the fighting into Sanaa, Amran and Al-Jawf provinces. In the meantime, the Yemeni parliament censured both the ministers of interior and defence regarding their failure to arrest rebels who kidnapped nine foreigners in Saada. The Ministry of Interior failed to rescue the hostages, three of them women who died in captivity. The authorities accused the Al-Houthi insurgents of being behind the incident. Instead, the Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of 30 citizens accused of kidnapping foreigners, some of whose supposed crimes were committed 10 years ago.
