Yemeni Rebels Reported to Have Taken Saudi Territory

by Daniel J Gerstle · 2009-11-05 10:39:00 UTC
Topics:

Conflicts which once languished in highland nether regions around the world are spilling over borders. The latest case is Yemen. It almost sounds like it's made up. According to Reuters, Yemeni Shiite rebels have fought Saudi border guards amid Saudi bombing raids, then crossed into the country and taken Mount Dukhan, a speck on the Saudi-Yemen border.

To clarify, a Shiite Arab sect in Yemen has long protested their lack of clerical representation, on their terms, in the largely Sunni Arab Yemeni government. Both sides claim to have acted defensively as fighting broke out again this year. About a hundred thousand people were displaced by fighting in the north as government forces pounded the Shiite rebels. The Saudis may have joined the fight in an alliance with the Yemeni government only to keep the fighting from spilling over the border, but alas it has done so. Follow the news here.

By the way, try not to confuse this issue to much with the Al Qaeda threat. Al Qaeda is strictly Salafist Sunni Muslim, with very few ties to the Shiite rebels. The only thing they have in common is opposition to the Yemeni government. If Al Qaeda plans to increase its influence in Yemen, the group would likely treat this fight as a cover distraction, not likely a rally point. Then again, one never knows these days.

[Photo: Al Mawhit, Yemen, Franco Pecchio]

Daniel J Gerstle is a journalist, human rights researcher, and humanitarian aid consultant. He is Editor and Chief Correspondent for HELO: The Crisis Story Magazine.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Southern Sudan: To Secede or Not to Secede?
NEXT STORY:
Campaign about Apple Factories in China Gains Wide and Diverse Support

COMMENTS (0)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.