Houthism loyalists confess to fighting troops, say used Israeli arms

SANA'A, May 19 (Saba) - The Specialized Penal Court heard Monday
confessions of members of the first and fourth groups accused of
involvement in rebellion and fighting troops in Sana'a last year.

Six members from the two groups said they used Israeli weapons to
attack soldiers in support for the Houthi rebels who have been
sporadically fighting the authorities for almost five years.

Early in 2008, clashes between the troops and Houthi rebels
continued stretching on the fringe of the capital.

During the hearing chaired by Judge Muhsen Elwan, the six said that
after they were affected by Houthism through speeches delivered by
Houthi leaders, they declared loyalty to the rebels and started
building war posts to kill soldiers in the Bani Hosheish district.

"We received orders from Abu Abdullah al-Shami, who was tapped by
the rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi to lead new rebels in the
area, to fight troops," they said.

They also said they used Russian-made arms to fight troops.

Insisting on that the court is illegitimate, they said the fight
against the Yemeni government is the fight against the US and
Israel, pointing to the US-Yemeni relationship.

The hearing was adjourned until next Monday.


FR