Yemen: Al-Houthi Rebels Training in Iran

By The Media Line/Rachelle Kliger

is accusing Iran of training and supporting members of the Al-Houthi rebel group since the beginning of the 1980s.

The Al-Houthi rebels are based in the 'Sa'da region in northern Yemen and have been involved in violent clashes with government forces since 2004.

Rishad Al-'Alimi, Yemen's vice prime minister for defense and security affairs, called on all political parties to unite to confront what he called the oppressive and destructive ideology of the Al-Houthis in the 'Sa'da region.

He accused the Believing Youth, the armed wing of the Al-Houthi followers, of receiving military training in Iran and implementing this in Yemen.

He said the Believing Youth's destructive operations went as far back as the beginning of the 1980s. He attributed to the group three incidents at the time - a grenade attack on a cinema in the capital, an attempted attack on the Saudi ambassador to Yemen and the burning of women in the streets of 'Sana with acid.

Yemen's accusations against Iran are probably not true and stem from various other motives, Pandeli Glavanis, professor of development studies at the American University in Cairo said.

"There's no reason for Iran to do this," he said. "I don't think it's the state, but there may well be Iranian individuals or groups who have relations with these organizations."

Glavanis said the motive for such support would not run along religious lines but would rather be influenced by local and regional political interests or business benefits.

Yemen and Iran enjoyed close relations in the past but these soured somewhat over the last few years after Yemen became an ally of the United States in the war on terrorism.

"Many Yemenis don't like that, and some may have approached Iranian groups for support," Glavanis told The Media Line.

He pointed out that these accusations might also be a way for the Yemeni government to seek a party to blame for the country's recent instability and deflect attention from Yemen's economic and security-related woes.

Yemen has faced violent riots over the past few months because of the rising prices of fuel and basic commodities and a lack of employment. Also, the country has faced several attacks on local and foreign interests carried out by groups supposedly linked with Al-Qa'ida.

Fighting in the 'Sa'da district began in 2004 between rebels from a local Shi'ite minority and government forces.

Hundreds of people from both sides have been killed in the rebellion.

Al-Houthi fighters belong to the Zaidi minority, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. They wish to restore the Zaidi imamate to Yemen, which was overthrown in a coup in 1962.

They also feel the Yemenite government is too closely allied with the United States.

The Zaidis are a minority in Yemen, which is mostly Sunni, but they are a majority in the northwest of the country.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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