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Civil War in Yemen (Army-Al-Qaeda-Houthis)

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I never write on the Iranian section or in threads about Iran and neither do 99,9% of all other Arab users here.

HAH! :lol:
Thats one nice joke (lie) :disagree:
I didnt know you lie so well

Iran and the Shah: What Really Happened

Here you came to the thread on your own accord, unprovoked, only to actively troll and write garbage. Not to mention that thread is full of your posts, or should I say long essays.
Whatever you accuse us of (obsession), you are guilty of yourself. :lol:

@WebMaster
 
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HAH! :lol:
Thats one nice joke (lie) :disagree:
I didnt know you lie so well

Iran and the Shah: What Really Happened

Here you came to the thread on your own accord, unprovoked, only to actively troll and write garbage. Not to mention that thread is full of your posts, or should I say long essays.
Whatever you accuse us of (obsession), you are guilty of yourself. :lol:

@WebMaster

LOL.

Why did you not quote my full post? Of course you omitted that in the thread that you link to, that had absolutely nothing to do with Arabs, KSA or any other Arab country, your troll compatriot, Homajon (who is sickly obsessed about the Arab world - just look at all the troll THREADS that he has made) started talking about KSA. Post 4. So of course I replied. Besides you did not get the point. I unlike 90% of the Arab-obsessed Farsi users (many suicide trolls) don't start discussions. I just reply to trolling. Anyway I did not know that making fun of your retarded regime was considered trolling Iran. Later it evolved but that was due to another Farsi double user.

Besides we know which people are obsessed about who and why. After all it were Arabs who military conquered Iran, destroyed Persia, conquered you religiously, linguistically, culturally and ethnically even. Before Islam you also got hugely influenced by us Semites and our civilizations in Iraq.
It is also your rulers (fake wannabe Arabs) that try to act more Arab than us Arabs themselves and try to champion Arab causes. They also meddle everywhere in the Arab world and think that they have any say or are wanted. It is your Farsi users that comment on almost every thread that has anything to do with Arabs. I once long ago checked the user history of 1 single Farsi troll and I found out that he had made 30 threads (!) about Arabs. Mostly troll threads. Talk about that for a second. With a bit of research on PDF I can find that thread and thus proof it.

You are just angry because I yet again banned a few serial Farsi suicide trolls and double users. The rules are clear. If you make a double user you get permanently banned.

I mean even in your domestic threads about Iranian news you always have 2-3 Iranian users that talk about "Arab Mullah's ruining Iran" or Arabs doing this and that.

Just compare our respective chit-chat threads with each other. You guys have talked about me about 100 times and about Arabs about 500 times if not more. That's just in Farsi language. @rmi5 can confirm this. On the other hand in our "Arabic Coffee Shop" thread you won't find a single post in Arabic about Iran or Iranians. Not even one single one. Search yourself and Google Translate is invented btw if help is needed.

Lastly this thread is about Yemen. An Arab country. Not Iran. It was your Berber friend (sickly obsessed about Arabs and making claims such as Egyptian pilots not being able to fly during night, Baghdad getting conquered by ISIS in a matter of weeks and later all of KSA getting conquered by ISIS in a few days etc. etc.) that started talking about "Iran pushing back KSA" or whatever nonsense he wrote so of course I replied to that. It was between me and him. But your suicide troll compatriot started trolling despite this and getting personal. Anyway he is banned so cheer up.

@1000 can confirm what I said about Ceylal.

We are off-topic anyway. I am not going to reply anymore. I wrote everything in this and that other thread.

@WebMaster

^^ @IbnTaymiyyah supports ISIS but started crying to mods when I played pro TTP mujahid, such people are not to be taken serious

Disappointed if true. No sane Muslim can support ISIS. Must be a joke. Anyway that's for him to decide.
 
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LOL.

Why did you not quote my full post? Of course you omitted that in the thread that you link to, that had absolutely nothing to do with Arabs, KSA or any other Arab country, your troll compatriot, Homajon (who is sickly obsessed about the Arab world - just look at all the troll THREADS that he has made) started talking about KSA. Post 4. So of course I replied. Besides you did not get the point. I unlike 90% of the Arab-obsessed Farsi users (many suicide trolls) don't start discussions. I just reply to trolling. Anyway I did not know that making fun of your retarded regime was considered trolling Iran. Later it evolved but that was due to another Farsi double user.

Besides we know which people are obsessed about who and why. After all it were Arabs who military conquered Iran, destroyed Persia, conquered you religiously, linguistically, culturally and ethnically even. Before Islam you also got hugely influenced by us Semites and our civilizations in Iraq.
It is also your rulers (fake wannabe Arabs) that try to act more Arab than us Arabs themselves and try to champion Arab causes. They also meddle everywhere in the Arab world and think that they have any say or are wanted. It is your Farsi users that comment on almost every thread that has anything to do with Arabs. I once long ago checked the user history of 1 single Farsi troll and I found out that he had made 30 threads (!) about Arabs. Mostly troll threads. Talk about that for a second. With a bit of research on PDF I can find that thread and thus proof it.

You are just angry because I yet again banned a few serial Farsi suicide trolls and double users. The rules are clear. If you make a double user you get permanently banned.

I mean even in your domestic threads about Iranian news you always have 2-3 Iranian users that talk about "Arab Mullah's ruining Iran" or Arabs doing this and that.

Just compare our respective chit-chat threads with each other. You guys have talked about me about 100 times and Arabs about 500 times if not more. That's just in Farsi language. @rmi5 can confirm this. On the other hand in our "Arabic Coffee Shop" thread you won't find a single post in Arabic about Iran or Iranians. Not even one single one. Search yourself and Google Translate is invented btw if help is needed.

Lastly this thread is about Yemen. An Arab country. Not Iran. It was your Berber friend (sickly obsessed about Arabs and making claims such as Egyptian pilots not being able to fly during night, Baghdad getting conquered by ISIS in a matter of weeks and later all of KSA getting conquered by ISIS in a few days etc. etc.) that started talking about "Iran pushing back KSA" or whatever nonsense he wrote so of course I replied to that. It was between me and him. But your suicide troll compatriot started trolling despite this and getting personal. Anyway he is banned so cheer up.

@1000 can confirm what I said about Ceylal.

@WebMaster



Disappointed if true. No sane Muslim can support ISIS. Must be a joke. Anyway that's for him to decide.

Oh bla bla
All I did was to refute your claim that you never write in Iran-related threads, and you reply with an essay and with the same old boring talking points. Yawnish

Btw I read Homajon post, and he did not talk about Saudi Arabia per se. He just mentioned it one time in a context in that post you are referring, but his post was otherwise mainly about the Shah, as was the thread.
You're telling me your self-control is so low that his mentioning KSA one time, makes you go all apeshit and write several essays? Thats even worse dude. lol
What Im saying is that there is a huge discrepancy between your replies and Homajons post where he mentioned KSA one time in a context in a post that otherwise was not primarily about KSA at all.
This tells me that you are either lying about why you behaved the way you did (your perceived "trolling" by Homajon, which is hard to believe), or you are someone whom is EXTREMELY reactionary with a pathologically low treshold. Your choice.

Anyway I wont discuss the matter further, as to not go offtopic anymore.
 
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Oh bla bla
All I did was to refute your claim that you never write in Iran-related threads, and you reply with an essay and with the same old boring talking points. Yawnish

Yes, because I wrote facts that can be backed up and confirmed by other users it is garbage. Yes, right. You apparently did not read my post. I only reply in threads about Iran IF Farsi users are trolling KSA/Arabs beforehand. Which was the case in that thread you linked too. Initiated by the Arab-obsessed troll Homajon (anyone can see his user history and the threads he has made or posts). Look there have been many recent threads on the ME section where I could easily have trolled Iran. For instance that news about your Mullah's telling people to have more children. But I did not because there was no reason to. Similarly I could troll on the Iranian section but I never even write there. Most users, if not all, can confirm that I hardly ever initiate anything. I just reply to trolling and the moderators know this. Whenever I am banned it is for going overboard in my replies. That's all. Similarly when banned I never make a second account to troll like most banned Farsi users.

Anyway given the huge number of Arab-obsessed Farsi users it is only understandable that some Arab users reply in the same manner.

Anyway this thread is about Yemen. An Arab country. Not Iran. No Arab mentioned Iran in this thread before your troll Berber friend that is sickly obsessed about Arabs (@1000 and all Arab users can once again confirm this) started talking about Iran "pushing KSA back". I replied to that by writing facts. Namely that your country is a failed state on many fronts currently and that you are in no condition to push KSA back or whatever nonsense he wrote. If I should comment on posts every time anyone mentions Arabs on PDF, including Iranian users, I would not be doing anything else here.

Anyway we are off-topic once again.
 
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Nothing new in yemen. Happened many times in history and once the sunni tribemen organise their fronts they will push them back. i think it happened like 4 or 5 times in the last 1400 years. The houthi controlled area are majority zaidi area apart from sana'a. they wouldn't dare go to the other parts of yemen it's all sunni.
 
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Nothing new in yemen. Happened many times in history and once the sunni tribemen organise their fronts they will push them back. i think it happened like 4 or 5 times in the last 1400 years. The houthi controlled area are majority zaidi area apart from sana'a. they wouldn't dare go to the other parts of yemen it's all sunni.

Zaydis are also found in San'aa in big numbers and they are good people. They are totally different from all other Shias. They are more close to Sunni Muslims especially of the Shafi'i fiqh. They have a unique approach among Shias.

Also this conflict has little to do with sects. It's more political. Read my previous posts. Many Sunnis also support the removal of the corrupt government. So in a sense they have joined hands with the Houthi's. But obviously the Houthi's will not be able to control the parts of Sana'a that they currently control for long. The reason they were even able to successfully control those parts of Sana'a (almost without a fight) is due to the locals not resisting because for now it is also in their interests as they want to remove the government or change it fundamentally.

Now when/if a new government is formed and the Zouthi's are still there, there will be problems though.

Likewise the Southerners also want the removal of the government so they won't act in the defense of those areas and the Houthi's will never try to invade the Southern areas either. For now it's quite peaceful outside of AQAP retards murdering civilians. Surprisingly…

Houthi's are not innocent but they have done much worse things before. Excluding the siege of Damaj this year and the end of last year.

Let's face it Houthi's are more sane than the AQAP retards. Zaydis or not. They actually care about the country somewhat. AQAP not so much…

If the Houthi's cross more lines and do anything more stupid than necessary they will be in trouble.

Q&A: What do the Houthis want? - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
 
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Zaydis are also found in San'aa in big numbers and they are good people. They are totally different from all other Shias. They are more close to Sunni Muslims especially of the Shafi'i fiqh. They have a unique approach among Shias.

Also this conflict has little to do with sects. It's more political. Read my previous posts. Many Sunnis also support the removal of the corrupt government. So in a sense they have joined hands with the Houthi's. But obviously the Houthi's will not be able to control the parts of Sana'a that they currently control for long. The reason they were even able to successfully control those parts of Sana'a (almost without a fight) is due to the locals not resisting because for now it is also in their interests as they want to remove the government or change it fundamentally.

Now when/if a new government is formed and the Zouthi's are still there, there will be problems though.

Likewise the Southerners also want the removal of the government so they won't act in the defense of those areas and the Houthi's will never try to invade the Southern areas either. For now it's quite peaceful outside of AQAP retards murdering civilians. Surprisingly…

Houthi's are not innocent but they have done much worse things before. Excluding the siege of Damaj this year and the end of last year.

Let's face it Houthi's are more sane than the AQAP retards. Zaydis or not. They actually care about the country somewhat. AQAP not so much…

If the Houthi's cross more lines and do anything more stupid than necessary they will be in trouble.

Q&A: What do the Houthis want? - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Houthis are more of a sub sect of the zaidi's who are closer to the imami shia, although the zaidi are close to sunni islam it is the Hanafi madhab not the shafi'i you will find this closeness because they rely on Hanifa fiqh book in their religious teaching and ibn hanifa stood with zaid bin ali against Mu'awiya. The problem with zaidi's are they are easily maniuplated and moved by external interference hence many of the zaidi today have converted or support the imami shia. The corruption of the abdrabo presidency was already pre-planned because he was a weak leader and they put him on purpose for these events. It's funny because i would've told you that when ali abdullah saleh was removed and they installed this government all this was done on purpose to make it easier for this houthi take over and the weakness of the country.

Secondly many sunni as you said support this removal of the government it's because they were pushed that way, they had no choice but the kicker is it was done and most of the sunni have a choice either have a corrupt bad government or houthi's with a nice external image who promises changes. Trust me we had dealings with those northern yemeni's and know them well the only reason we trained them is because of the whole qatar vs KSA saga that we got caught in.

One thing i learned about northern yemeni's is you can never ever ever trust them, they will promise you and even swear on the koran for you and would betray you or change their mind the next day. Northern yemeni are the worst in my opinion what ever their mouths say is opposite to what their heart say.
 
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Houthis are more of a sub sect of the zaidi's who are closer to the imami shia, although the zaidi are close to sunni islam it is the Hanafi madhab not the shafi'i you will find this closeness because they rely on Hanifa fiqh book in their religious teaching and ibn hanifa stood with zaid bin ali against Mu'awiya. The problem with zaidi's are they are easily maniuplated and moved by external interference hence many of the zaidi today have converted or support the imami shia. The corruption of the abdrabo presidency was already pre-planned because he was a weak leader and they put him on purpose for these events. It's funny because i would've told you that when ali abdullah saleh was removed and they installed this government all this was done on purpose to make it easier for this houthi take over and the weakness of the country.

Secondly many sunni as you said support this removal of the government it's because they were pushed that way, they had no choice but the kicker is it was done and most of the sunni have a choice either have a corrupt bad government or houthi's with a nice external image who promises changes. Trust me we had dealings with those northern yemeni's and know them well the only reason we trained them is because of the whole qatar vs KSA saga that we got caught in.

One thing i learned about northern yemeni's is you can never ever ever trust them, they will promise you and even swear on the koran for you and would betray you or change their mind the next day. Northern yemeni are the worst in my opinion what ever their mouths say is opposite to what their heart say.

Actually I wrote Shafi'i because practically all Sunni Yemenis belong to the Shafi'i madahib as well. Zaydis are very close to the Shafi'i fiqh. Hence there having rarely been any sectarianism in Yemen compared to other countries with a similar demography.

That's a minority that are this. One should remember that the Houthi's are a small organization compared to the total number of Zaydis in Yemen which are in the millions. Such groups always attract poor people as well. Many of the members are without jobs so they might join such organizations. Similarly AQAP retards are luring similar people in the areas where they have a presence.

You mean Eritrea? I don't know which dealings Northern Yemenis had with you guys so can't comment on it.

No, I am not supporting the Houthi's by any means I am just saying that their movement is more political. They want more inclusiveness and that's understandable. People who are ignorant about Yemen think that it's a Sunni-Zaydi fight. It's political before anything else. Outsiders barely play a role in all this.

Well it all lies in hands of the Yemenis. Inclusion is the only solution. Ali Abdullah Saleh was a poor leader too. I mean which Muslim leader is not that and has not been that for the past many many decades? Those that have not can be counted on 1 hand or 2 at most.

KSA and Qatar have more or less solved their differences in regards to Yemen. But the problem with Yemen is that whoever "rules" it makes no real difference because Yemen is already a highly fragmented country. The people/parties/groups that already control their areas will keep controlling it. I mean you won't see Houthi's in the South and likewise you won't see Southerners in the heartland of the Zaydi dominated areas of Yemen.

In the middle you have the Hadhramis who are neither pro-government, pro-Houthi's or pro-Southern independence movement. No wonder that it is said that the population of Hadhramis outside of Hadramawt is 50 times greater!:lol: From South East Asia where there are about 10 million people of Hadhrami ancestry to Eastern Africa, Egypt, KSA, North Africa etc.

Yemen needs a somewhat inclusive strongman that can unite all those groups and work for the common good of Yemen as a country and for Yemenis as a people. But such people don't hang on the trees in many places out there.
 
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Houthi victories in Yemen make Saudi Arabia nervous
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Followers of the Shiite Houthi group shout slogans as they celebrate Eid al-Ghadir in Sanaa, Oct. 12, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)
It’s the House of Saud’s worse nightmare come true. The stunning success of the ZaydiHouthi rebellion in Yemen places a Shiite group with connections to Iran on the soft underbelly of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, erasing years of Saudi efforts to stabilize Yemen and keep it in the Saudi orbit.

The Zaydi Houthi movement, which calls itself Ansar Allah, took control of the capital, Sanaa, in September and now has taken control of the main northern port of the country at Hodeida. The Houthis have expanded far beyond their traditional stronghold in the north of Yemen around Saada near the Saudi border to take control of much of northern Yemen. They are dictating who and what they will accept in the nominal government of Yemen. They rejected President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s first choice for a new prime minister, and rejected his requests that they evacuate Sanaa and return to their bases in the north.

Named after the founder of the modern Zaydi movement, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, who was killed in the first of six wars between 2004 and 2010 waged by the rebels against the Sanaa regime, the Houthis are now the dominant military force in the country. The Zaydis are an offshoot of Shiite Islam, which controlled North Yemen until the 1962 revolution. The Zaydi Imamate was toppled by an Egyptian-backed nationalist movement and retreated into the rugged mountains and deserts of the north to wage a six-year insurgency against the Egyptians and their Yemeni republican allies. The Saudis were the major source of outside support for the royal rebels. King Faisal was their primary advocate.

So it is deeply ironic that today the Saudis are so alarmed at the Zaydi takeover of Sanaa and Hodeida. Before the Arab Spring came to Yemen in 2011 the Saudis supported then-Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s military campaigns against the Houthis and fought a series of their own military campaigns against them along the border after 2009. The Saudi army and air force were not particularly effective in these operations, so any residual Saudi-Zaydi affection was long gone by the time Saleh was ousted and his deputy Hadi took charge of Yemen.

What concerns the Saudis the most is the Iranian connection to the Houthis. Saleh alleged Iranian help to the rebels as early as 2004, but it wasn’t until 2012 that US officials began confirming that Tehran was aiding the Houthis. Iran, with its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, has been shipping small arms and ammunition to the Houthis for several years now and also providing limited quantities of financial aid. Last month, the Yemeni authorities deported to Oman two Iranians whom they accused of being members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force arrested in Yemen assisting the Houthis.

Whatever the extent of Iranian aid to the Houthis, Riyadh believes it is extensive and critical to their success. A senior Saudi prince recently told me that the kingdom is now surrounded by Iranian proxies. He said Iran’s assets control four Arab capitals: Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa. The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat this month editorialized that “Iran is encircling Saudi Arabia.”

Since the Arab Spring began, Saudi Arabia has led the effort to stabilize Yemen and introduce moderate reforms, enough to placate some of the demands for change but not enough to fundamentally alter Yemen’s unity or pro-Riyadh tilt. Saudi diplomats worked effectively and diligently to squeeze Saleh out of the presidency and bring Hadi into power. The kingdom has provided over $3 billion in oil grants since 2011 and deposited $1 billion in monetary support in the Yemeni central bank to keep the country solvent.

Yemen has also been the poster child for American counterterrorism local capacity-building in the post-Arab Spring era. Instead of the massive footprint of Afghanistan and Iraq, Yemen has been a role model for a light special forces footprint backed by drones and other air power, but with most of the boots on the ground being Yemeni. The United States looked to the Saudis to provide political, economic and diplomatic support, rally the other Gulf states and be Hadi’s big brother.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), often described in the last few years as the most dangerous al-Qaeda affiliate in the world, was the target for the joint US-Saudi campaign in Yemen. The kingdom’s minister of the interior, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, led the Saudi role in fighting AQAP. The target of several AQAP assassination attempt, bin Nayef is a very capable and effective leader and a strong supporter of close cooperation with Washington. After Saudi prompting, the United Nations has condemned the Houthis for their advances this year.

So it is very frustrating in Riyadh to see the Zaydi Houthis and their Iranian friends doing so well in Yemen. From King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s perspective, the kingdom is under dual sieges. The first is Iran and its proxies, Hezbollah and the regimes in Syria and Iraq. The second is al-Qaeda and its offshoot the Islamic State (IS) with their strongholds in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

The Houthi advance threatens to plunge Yemen into the same kind of sectarian struggle that grips Syria and Iraq. The Sunni majority in Yemen and the Zaydi minority are increasingly polarizing the country on sectarian grounds, with the Saudis and Iranians fighting another proxy war along the Sunni-Shiite divide.

Since the United States was Saleh’s ally for years and now backs Hadi, the Zaydis are, not surprisingly, anti-American. Washington’s close ties to Riyadh add to their animus against the United States. A bumper sticker on Houthi vehicles proclaims “Death to America, Death to Israel, A curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam.” At the same time, the Houthis and AQAP are mortal enemies. Just as in Iraq, the pro-Iranian Shiite Zaydis in Yemen are opponents of extremist Sunni ideologues such as IS and AQAP. The United States should avoid being drawn into another civil war in the Middle East where the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily either my friend or enemy.

Houthi victories in Yemen make Saudi Arabia nervous - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
 
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Yemen Houthis and tribesmen reach truce deal

A 24-hour ceasefire agreement between Yemen's Shia Houthi rebels and Sunni tribal fighters has been reached in Ibb province, sources have told Al Jazeera.

At least eight people were killed in heavy fighting between tribesmen and Houthis on Friday in the central province, witnesses said, increasing fears of outright sectarian warfare.

Six Houthi fighters and two tribesmen were killed on the outskirts and inside the city of Ibb, 150km south of the capital, Sanaa.

Explosions were heard across the city as the Houthis came under rocket-propelled grenade fire from tribesmen in the surrounding countryside, witnesses said.

Clashes overnight in Bayda left "dozens" of casualties, tribal and security sources said.

Rival groups are seeking to exploit a power vacuum in impoverished Yemen, which has been in political deadlock since the Houthi rebels took control of Sanaa on September 21.

The rebels, who were previously based in the northern highlands where Yemen's Zaidi Shia minority is concentrated, have since made significant advances in provinces south of Sanaa.

Al Jazeera's Omar Al Saleh, reporting from the capital, said Yemen is facing a new reality with the Houthis emerging as a powerful force.

"Many people here question the inaction of the military to stop the Houthi advance," he said.

"Some believe a hidden alliance between former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who still enjoys influence over military commanders, and the Houthis has been formed to settle old scores with their common enemies."

The Houthis took the Sunni majority Red Sea port city of Hudaydah on Monday, and on Wednesday, they appeared to have taken control, unopposed, of Dhamar and much of Ibb provinces , security officials said.

The steady expansion of the rebels has increased the threat of an open confrontation with AQAP.

AQAP claimed responsibility for a powerful suicide bombing that killed 47 people at a gathering of Houthi supporters in Sanaa earlier this month.

Yemen Houthis and tribesmen reach truce deal - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
 
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Houthis, Sunni supporters clash in central Yemen

(Reuters) - Yemeni Shi'ite Houthi fighters and supporters of the Sunni Muslim party Islah clashed in central Yemen on Saturday, residents and local officials said, another sign of sectarian warfare in the violence-prone country that borders Saudi Arabia.

Saturday's fighting in the town of Yareem in Ibb province came after 15 people were killed in fighting on Friday between Sunni tribesmen and Houthi rebels on the outskirts and in the city of Ibb, 150 km (90 miles) south of Sanaa.

Houthi fighters were attacking the home of an Islah official, Ali Bdeir, in Yareem, residents said. The attack came after the Houthis were ambushed at dawn in Yareem and four Houthis were killed

Eyewitnesses told Reuters dozens of bodies of fighters from both sides were strewn on the main street in Yareem. In a letter seen by Reuters, the police chief of Ibb province resigned after the Houthis entered Ibb.

"There are heavy clashes now between the Houthi fighters and the supporters of Islah. It's a very scary situation," a local Ibb official told Reuters.

The Houthis established themselves as powerbrokers in Yemen last month, capturing the capital, Sanaa, on Sept. 21. The weak administration of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi put up little resistance.

Clashes between Houthis, Sunni tribesmen and fighters from al Qaeda, who regard Shi'ites as heretics, have since intensified across several provinces in Yemen, alarming neighboring oil-exporting giant Saudi Arabia.

PROTEST IN HODEIDAH

Activists in Hodeidah told Reuters on Saturday that residents took to the streets of the city, the second-largest port in the Arabian peninsula after Aden, calling on the Houthis to leave.

The Houthis, who come from the northern highlands and champion the interests of the Zaydi community, which makes up a fifth of Yemen's population of 25 million, extended their control to the Red Sea port of Hodeidah on Tuesday.

The conflict with the Houthis has also extended to clashes with al Qaeda fighters who view the group as pawns of Iran. Before its fight with the Shi'ite group, al Qaeda was already battling the government, frequently attacking security officials and government targets.

Early on Saturday, suspected al Qaeda militants shot dead Saleh al-Subaihi, the head of the government-allied local militia in the southern province of Lahj, and two of his aides, a local official said.

Tribal leaders said Houthi fighters withdrew to the outskirts of Radda in Bayda province, an al Qaeda stronghold, on Saturday after an agreement with the tribes.

In Sanaa, dozens of armed Houthi demonstrators protested in front of the Saudi embassy on Saturday, calling for the release of a prominent Shi'ite cleric who was sentenced to death by a Saudi court this week, a Reuters witness said.

The Houthi demonstrators, who were carrying AK-47 rifles, also chanted "Death to America, Death to Israel" slogans. Yemeni security and military forces blocked both sides of the street in front of the embassy and watched the demonstration.

A Saudi judge on Wednesday sentenced to death Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who had called for greater rights for the kingdom's Shi'ites.

Houthis, Sunni supporters clash in central Yemen| Reuters
 
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Al-Qaeda kills 30 Shi'ite rebels in central Yemen: tribal sources
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Credit: Reuters/Khaled Abdullah
Shi'ite Houthi rebels man a checkpoint near Yareem town of Yemen's central province of Ibb October 22, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Khaled Abdullah

(Reuters) - Sunni Al Qaeda militants and Shi'ite Muslim rebels have fought a bloody battle in central Yemen, tribal sources said on Wednesday, amid fears of worsening sectarian tension in the impoverished Arabian country.

Thirty Shi'ite rebels and 18 Sunni fighters and their tribal allies were killed in the clashes, the tribal sources told Reuters. Shi'ite Houthi rebels seized control of the capital Sanaa on Sept. 21 and their forces have fanned out to Yemen's west and center since then.

Al-Qaeda in Yemen's Twitter page said it fought the rebels with light weapons and demolished their homes in the city of Radda in al-Bayda province over the course of several hours on Tuesday - an account confirmed by local tribesmen.

The statement did not mention any casualties on its side, which the tribal sources put at 18 among the militants and tribal gunmen fighting along with the group.

In a separate incident, Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for an attack on an army checkpoint elsewhere in al-Bayda province which killed 5 soldiers, the fighters and security sources said.

Radda, with a population of 60,000, has long been a stronghold of al-Qaeda, which includes many fighters from local tribes who are up in arms over the new presence of the Houthi rebels in the mainly Sunni-populated region.

The northern-based Shi'ite Houthi established themselves as power brokers in Yemen last month by capturing Sanaa against scant resistance from the weak administration of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who appears not to have a full grip on the country's fractious military.

Houthi forces have since advanced into central Yemen and taken on Sunni tribesmen and al Qaeda militants, who regard the Houthis as heretics. Fighting has flared in several provinces, alarming the world's No. 1 oil exporter Saudi Arabia next door.

Al-Qaeda kills 30 Shi'ite rebels in central Yemen: tribal sources| Reuters
 
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