SANA'A: Renewed clashes flared up in Yemen's northern province of Hajjah as Salafists, a fundamentalist Sunni group, are trying to force back the al-Houthis, Shia militants, as the latter continue their advances further into Sunni territories. Although the two groups have always enjoyed a rather dysfunctional cohabitation, since they are at odds ideologically and more specifically religiously, they seemed to obey a tacit truce while President Ali Abdullah Saleh was still holding the reins of power. Since the popular uprising started and because the government's armed forces have been recalled elsewhere, al-Houthis launched a series of attack against the Salafists, besieging Dar al-Hadith, a school, and preventing food and aid to pass through. Despite many attempts, the government and local authorities have been unable to negotiate a proper truce, with one group or the other always reigniting tensions and taking up arms. All through Sunday and Monday, Sunni tribes battled al-Houthis in Kashar, an area in the Hajjah province, determined to hold their positions and thwart the Shia led rebellion's territorial gain. “The clashes continued for more than non-stop 10 hours, leaving at least 40 Houthis as well as 15 tribesmen killed. Not to mention the large number of the unspecified causalities from the two sides,” said the local source, who requested to remain anonymous. Saudi Arabia, which is closely monitoring the situation since al-Houthis have expressed their desire to extend their hold over Yemen well beyond the country's northern border, reopening a chapter of Yemen-Saudi history many would like to see buried, Saudi officials have urged the Yemeni government to take immediate actions. Al-Houthis want to challenge the Yemeni-Saudi border demarcation line as they said the Kingdom stole their lands eons ago for it was sitting on vast oil reserves. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/WjlrC Tags: Houthis, Salafist, Saudi, Sectarian Section: Latest News, Yemen
