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Yemen - unrest
Rebels willing to open humanitarian corridors
Article published on the 2009-10-15 Latest update 2009-10-15 13:26 TU
Anti-government demonstrators shout slogans in South Yemen.
(Photo: Reuters)
Shiite Zaidi, or Houthi, rebels in northern Yemen say they are ready to open humanitarian corridors for civilians caught up in their war with government forces. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting, which started in 2004. Thousands have died in five years.
The rebels say they want these corridors to be directly controlled by the UN and want reassurance they will not be used for troop reinforcement.
The Yemen government says it will allow humanitarian corridors.
“It’s a positive sign,” says analyst Amr Hamzawi, speaking to RFI, “I’m just not sure whether it’s step that might ultimately lead to a stop in the fighting.”
Analysis: Amr Hamzawi, political analyst
“For the civilian population it’s a good step. The civilian population has suffered from the two sides, the government and the Houthi group, both of them in fact committed clear violations of human rights… so it’s good to open up for a freeze.”
Hamzawi says the nature of the conflict is more political than religious.
“It’s a rebellion against discrimination, and it’s by no means exclusive in the North,” he says. “You see clear signs in the South and elsewhere of Yemeni groups and movements acting against the central government.”
Hamzawi says this is due to the government’s unwillingness to reform.
“It has not listened to demands”, he says, “to decentralise and to end discrimination and corruption.”
Meanwhile, a demonstration in southern Yemen saw thousands take to the streets on Wednesday to criticise the government for economic and political discrimination in the South.
The demonstrators in Al-Habilayn, Lahej province also called for a separate state while celebrating the 60th anniversary of an anti-British uprising.
The rally lasted for three hours without intervention from the Yemeni authorities. Slogans were shouted calling for division from the north and activists addressed the crowds. One activist, Ali Salem al-Beed, stressed the “the principle of a peaceful system to achieve independence.”
South Yemenis complain that reunification with the north in 1990 led to increased poverty. Yemen is the Middle East’s poorest country.
