Wednesday 23 December 2009

Suffering big losses, Saudis suspend assault on Yemen's Houthis

Link
In the National/ here


"Saudi forces will suspend major military operations against Yemeni Zaidi rebels in the south after almost 50 days of clashes that killed 73 Saudi troops and left 26 missing, the government announced.........but will continue hunting down small groups of rebels, also known as Houthis after their late commander, Hussein Badr Eddin al Houthi....


The Prince said that interrogations of captured rebels are ongoing but that foreign forces supported their operations, without specifying any country.
“It’s logical to say that the armed infiltrators are loyal to a country other than Yemen as their weaponry shows that they are getting the support of a foreign party, even more than one party,” Prince Khalid said........


While Saudi forces appeared to be celebrating the suspension of operations against the Yemeni rebels, analysts believe that the oil-rich kingdom will face a long war with the Zaidi rebels in the mountainous terrain along the border with Yemen that might complicate efforts to prevent infiltration by al Qa’eda militants based in Yemen.
Some military experts say that although Saudi has special forces that can operate in mountains, the rebels are still a threat due to the lack of experience the heavily-equipped Saudi forces have in fighting a guerrilla war in hostile terrain....
Posted by G, Z, or B at 11:53 AM
 Uprooted Palestinian

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