Yemen welcomes Nasrallah call for cease-fire

SANA'A, Sep. 19 (Saba) – An official
source welcomed on Saturday a call of Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of
Lebanese Hezbollah,
for a cease-fire in the northern Yemeni province of Saada.

In a statement to Saba, the source said "while we appreciate Nasrallah's call for a
cease-fire and his eagerness to avoid further bloodshed, we assure him that the war
in
Saada has been imposed on the government which is always and still keen to resort to
all peaceful options in order to avoid a war".

The sources added that the government had formed many committees to persuade the
rebels to desist from carrying out terrorist acts, sabotage and attacking citizens
and army
and security forces, "but those elements remained on the reckless and continued
carrying out acts of murder and sabotage and destruction of public and private
enterprises,
forcing the official bodies to take responsibilities for suppressing this rebellion".
"These rebel elements must commit to the points announced by the government for
stopping military operations and preventing bloodshed", the source added.
Last August, the government announced six conditions for a ceasefire in the area
but it seems the defiant rebels have not yet accepted the conditions.
The truce conditions are: 1- Full withdrawal from all Saada districts and
eliminating all checkpoints from all roads.
2 - Coming down from mountain peaks and ending banditry and sabotaging.
3 - Giving back all military and public equipment seized during battles with the
troops.
4 - Establishing the fate of six foreigners, a German family comprising of parents
and three children and a Briton, who all available information suggest were
kidnapped
by the rebels in June.
5 - Handing over kidnapped Saada locals.
6 - Stopping interference in the local government's responsibilities.
Al- Houthi rebels have been launching intermittent wars against the troops since
2004 in the northern governorate of Sa'ada, which located close to border with
Saudi Arabia.
Since then, thousands of people, soldiers and insurgents have been killed in the
governorate after the rebel group was founded by rebel leader Hussein al- Houthi.
The Yemeni government accuses the Houthi group of trying to reinstall the rule of
imams.
YA