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April 16, 2006
Yemen: Mosque Clash Leaves Four Dead
News from Associated Press via the Seattle Pi and the Jerusalem Post and Al Jazeera reports that a battle took place yesterday in a Shi'ite mosque in northern Yemen. The clash involved followers of the anti-US cleric Hussein Badr Eddin al-Hawthi (Badreddine al-Houthy) who was killed in September 2004. This cleric had been the founder of the Faithful Youth movement, and had been accused of sedition, forming an illegal armed group and inciting anti-American hatred. After Hussein was killed, his father continued, replacing his role as leader of the movement, until he surrendered and was imprisoned on September 23, 2005.
The current incident took place as Friday prayers began at the Grand Mosque of Harf Sufiyan district in Amran province, and saw four supporters of al-Houthy shot dead by police, with three other followers injured.
According to Abdullah Mohsin Dhabaan of Amran city council, the gun battle was started by the worshippers who fired at police guarding the mosque: "A group of al-Hawthi's loyalists tried to take over the mosque by shooting the police, which forced the policemen to return fire."
Amran is located 25 miles northwest of San'aa, the capital of Yemen.
The population of Yemen is mostly Sunni, but in the north, the Zaidi live, who comprise about 25% of Yemen's population. The Zaidi or Zaydi are Shia, but share many aspects of doctrinal faith with the Sunni. The Zaidi sect, named after Zayd bin Ali, grandson of Hussain, was formed by the followers of Zayd bin Ali, who led an unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad caliph Hisham in 740.
The Zaidi sect claims to be moderate and to reject violence. In 893, a Zaydi state had been created in Yemen. From the eleventh century a continuous tradition of Zaydi imams existed until 1962, when the imamate was ended by a coup was mounted by a republican government, in an event known to Yemenis as the September 26 revolution.
The Zaidi rebels, however, are not moderate, and have links to the increasingly hostile nation of Iran. In December we reported how one Zaidi follower of al-Houthy, Yehya Dalimi, was sentenced to death for terrorist offences, and for working for the Iranian government to stir up unrest in Yemen.
In January, we reported that four pro-government members of al-Oujeri, a tribal representation group, were killed, and two more injured, following a mortar attack by supporters of al-Houthy. Also two Yemeni soldiers were killed by al-Houthy supporters in Sadaah province.
In March this year, President Ali Abdullah Saleh released 627 Zaidi rebels, followers of Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi who had been involved in his rebellion. The release of the rebels was in accordance with an amnesty announced last September.
A report entitled Jihadist Goups in Yemen, made earlier this month by Arabic news source Asharq Alawsat, gives a fascinating insight into the undercurrents of the Yemeni situation.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 16, 2006 9:40 AM
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