Published on 9 January 2014 in News
Nasser Al-Sakkaf (author)
SANA’A, Jan. 8—The encampments of two warring parties in the Haradh area in Hajja governorate were being evacuated and surrendered to security forces on Wednesday, a day after the Houthis and pro-Salafi fighters signed a ceasefire agreement brokered by a presidential committee on Tuesday.
Local sources say the pro-Salafi fighters removed blocks on the Haradh-Sa’ada road, which they had been occupying for three months, preventing the transport of goods and services to the area.
The presidential committee, headed by Gen. Mohammed Al-Qasimi, the army’s general inspector, and Hajja’s governor, Ali Al-Qaisi, supervised the signing of the document.
The agreement stipulated that both sides should direct their fighters to cease firing at one another, according to a report by the state-run Saba news agency.
However, clashes between the Houthis, a group of Zaidi Shiites who operate outside government control in the North, and their Salafi opponents (a conservative Sunni sect) continue in other areas such as Hashid in Amran governorate, Barat in Al-Jawf governorate and Arhab in Sana’a.
Peace negotiations have failed in these areas as well as in the small town of Dammaj in Sa’ada, which has been the epicenter of fighting between the two groups.
Hassan Humran, the foreign relations coordinator for the Houthis in Sa’ada, said government forces are securing the main road into Sa’ada and working to prevent future roadblocks from being erected.
Humran said the road is a huge lifeline for the area.
In addition to the Haradh route, there are two other major roads connecting Sa’ada governorate to the rest of the country. The Arhab-Sa’ada and the Amran-Sa’ada routes remain blocked due to ongoing fighting between the two groups.
Food and oil prices have risen in Sa’ada as a result of the roadblocks, according to Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a Houthi representative at the National Dialogue Conference. He says the price of one gas cylinder has reached YR3,000 ($14). This is more than double the price, YR1,200-1,400 ($5.60-$6.50) in the capital, Sana’a.
Initially, it seemed the presidential committee assigned to Dammaj had convinced the Houthis to lift their siege on the city, but local resident Ismael Al-Wadei said Wednesday afternoon that clashes continue.
He added, “The block which the pro-Salafi supporters are running at the entrances to Sa’ada governorate is no worse than the months-long siege the Houthis have placed on Dammaj,” he said.
In order to broker an agreement, Al-Wadei believes both sides will have to concede.
It is not the first time the two sides have signed an agreement to end fighting in Dammaj. Previous agreements signed by both parties failed to be implemented.