Saudi forces drive Yemeni rebels out of border area, possibly ending 3 month old conflict

Saudis drive Yemeni rebels out of border region

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi forces have driven Yemeni rebels out of the border region between the two countries, a top Saudi defense official said Wednesday, suggesting that the three month conflict along the mountainous frontier may be winding down.

The announcement by Assistant Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan came a day after the rebels themselves announced a unilateral cease-fire.

Yemen’s Hawthi rebels have been battling their own government since 2004 over neglect and discrimination, but when they crossed the border and killed two guards in November, Saudi Arabia launched a massive counteroffensive using artillery and airpower.

Speaking to reporters in the southern city of Jazan, Prince Khaled said most of the 133 Saudi soldiers killed in the battles died in the fierce fighting during the first three weeks of the offensive against a string of strategic mountains on the border.

Saudi forces captured some 1,500 Yemenis during the course of the conflict, though some were just smugglers rather than rebel fighters, Prince Khaled added.

He was skeptical of the rebel cease-fire, saying snipers were still operating in some areas. “We have to know they are serious,” he said.

The prince said the rebels must pull out of the mountains, retreat back 6 miles (10 kilometers), and return six missing Saudi soldiers. He said the Yemeni army would have to be present along the border for the conflict to be over.

The high death toll among Saudi soldiers underscores the ferocity of the fighting with the poorly armed Yemeni Hawthi rebels, who have been battling their own government intermittently for the last five years.

The rebels have gained a reputation for being cunning adversaries, taking full advantage of the rugged mountainous terrain of their homes in northern Yemen to fight a guerrilla war.

The Saudis relied on artillery and air power to defeat the rebels. Khaled called it an “unconventional war with mountain guerrillas.”

Khaled said his country doesn’t meddle in Yemen’s internal affairs but was drawn in to the fight when the rebels crossed the borders. The rebels had earlier alleged the Saudis were backing the Yemeni troops.

He said he hoped the rebels would “return to their senses and devotion to their nation rather than some other country,” in an apparent reference to accusations that the rebels are backed by Saudi archrival Iran.

“They are not supposed to have military power. They are supposed to be regular citizens who participate in a national political party in Yemen,” he said. “But to have weapons that match those of the Yemeni army, this means they have other plans.”