Wednesday, November 11, 2009 SANA: Yemeni Shia Houthi fighters have released recent footage of clashes with the Saudi military at the two countries' joint border. The video shows the seizure of Saudi army vehicles by the fighters. It also shows Saudi soldiers fleeing the scene of battles as Houthi fighters open fire on them. The Saudi Arabian air force launched a deadly offensive against Houthis eight days ago, accusing the Shia resistance fighters of killing two Saudi soldiers on the border. While Riyadh says that its offensive targeted Houthi positions on 'Saudi territory', the fighters say Yemeni villages, far from the battlefield, were being bombarded. The Houthis say they've captured an unspecified number of Saudi troops inside the Yemeni territory in response to Saudi attacks on their positions and villages. They have also posted footage of a man they identified as one of several Saudi soldiers in their custody. The video showed a man in military uniform with facial wounds and an apparent leg injury receiving medical attention. It identified him as Staff Sergeant Ahmad Abdullah al-Omari. Houthi fighters accuse Riyadh of supporting the Yemeni government in launching attacks against them. The Yemeni government accuses Houthi fighters of seeking to reinstate the imamate rule, which ended in a 1962 coup. The Houthis, however, say they are defending themselves against religious oppression as well as social, economic and political 'discrimination' against them in the country.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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