Yemen to stop military operation if rebels accept six conditions



SANAA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — Yemen government Sunday said it will declare a ceasefire with Shiite Houthi rebels in the north if they meet commitments to six conditions set earlier by the government, said the country's Defense Ministry.

"The National Defense Council considered...(rebel leader Abdel Malik) al-Houthi's announcement to comply with some of the government's conditions," said the ministry in a statement on its website.

According to the statement, the council stressed "if al-Houthi is committed with the six points, including commitments to stop aggression on the Saudi territories and the prompt release of Yemeni and Saudi hostages the rebels hold, the government does not mind stopping the military operations."

The statement came in response to an offer renewed Saturday by al-Houthi for a ceasefire in return of stopping all military operations against their posts in the north.

"We... reiterate our acceptance of the five conditions (set by the government) after the aggression stops," al-Houthi said in an audio record posted on the Internet.

"We hope all sides show understanding of the initiative and prefer the interests of the country over any other considerations, " he added.

The Yemeni government insisted that the army offensive against the rebels' hideouts should never stop until the rebels commit to five conditions.

The five conditions include full withdrawal of rebel forces from all districts they occupied and removal of all road blocks, coming down from their hideouts at the mountains, returning of all military and public equipment seized during battles, releasing of detained military personnel and kidnapped civilians and abiding by the Yemeni constitution and law.

Later, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh added a new condition, calling on the rebels to stop infiltrating into neighboring Saudi Arabia.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-01/31/c_13158044.htm