The War on Zaidism: Sa’ada Update:

Here are some recent updates from Jane Novak’s excellent website “Armies of Liberation” which keeps us informed about the Sa’ada tragedy:
1. al Houthi Letter to Parliament:
Yahya al-Houthi, an MP and brother of Abdel-Malik, leader of the Zaidi insurgency, sent a letter to the Yemeni parliament about the Senate’s finding that the US military aid may have been mis-used (diverted) to President Saleh’s military campaign against the Houthi-led Zaidis of Sa’ada region in Yemen. He wrote:
“We continue to expose our deep concern about the military and financial help of the United States and European Union to the regime in Yemen, and the Arab aid provided in response to Western demands. Our concern is that such assistance is increasing tensions in our country and increasing the unjust use of force, because the aid is being used for the further suppression of the people, and to further strengthen the corrupt dictatorship, rather than strengthening a democratic political and institutional governance, and it will therefore lead to even more popular discontent against the corrupt system, thereby expanding the cycle of violence and prolonging it.”

2. UN Refugee Agency reports on Sa’ada:
“Nearly 350,000 people have been displaced since 2004 and hundreds of others killed, according to the UN Refugee Agency. But many IDPs say they are unable to return home, as the government has requested, without assistance to rebuild damaged homes.
“They [authorities] ask us to return after their jets destroyed our homes,” said Yahya Hajouri, an IDP from Saada’s Malaheeth District who is living with his family in al-Mazraq I camp in neighbouring Hajjah Governorate.
SRF teams are still assessing the damage in his home district. “Do they want us to sleep in the open? Do they want us to lose our dignity?” Hajouri asked.
According to a 12 July update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the destruction in Malaheet is severe, with 80 percent of houses damaged or destroyed.
“Many people are living in partially damaged houses, which poses severe safety risks. Urgent repair of homes and provision of NFIs [non-food items] is needed,” it said.
A 14 July report by the local independent news website al-tagheer.com estimated that the clashes from mid-August 2009 to mid-February 2010 had cost US$850 million – $750 million in weapons and soldiers, and $100 million in reconstruction. Some 4,141 homes, 201 public institutions and 24 poultry farms had been damaged or destroyed, it said.”

3. Saudi Hypocrisy:
As mentioned in earlier posts, the jets which destroyed the homes of these Zaidi families mentioned above were the Flying Wahhabi Air Brigade from Saudi Arabia. All this makes Saudi King Abdullah’s latest public statement a real joke. Here it is:
MAKKAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Saturday described disunity as "the greatest enemy" of Muslims and called upon Islamic scholars across the world to work for unity.
In his keynote speech at the opening of an international Islamic conference here, he commended the Muslim World League's (MWL) efforts to spread the message of Islam and confront extremism and terrorism. "Disunity is the beginning of downfall ... rather it is the greatest enemy of people ... Muslims should beware of division and improve their relations," he said. (Arab News, 1st August 2010)
I posted a comment to this article at the “Arab News” website asking why King Abdullah was bombing the Zaidis if he wanted to improve relations between Muslims? But my comment wasn’t published, instead they’ve published 13 positive comments from naïve Muslims who don’t know what the Saudi agenda really is; to “unify” Islam by destroying the opposition!