At least 20 people were killed in fighting between the Yemen Army and
Shi'ite rebels in the bloodiest battle in months, Middle East Newsline reported. The Shi'ite fighters, who
belong to the Iranian-backed Believing Youth movement, assaulted a key
military installation in the Jawf province.
At one point, the Yemen Air Force sent a Russian-origin MiG fighter-jet
to bomb the Shi'ites. But the aircraft was downed by Shi'ite gunners, an
assertion acknowledged by the Yemeni military.
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"The Houthis [Shi'ite fighters] have been rearmed and trained for what
could be a new offensive to take advantage of weakness of the regime," an
Arab diplomat said.
The diplomat said the Shi'ites, named after their founder Hussein Badr
Al Houthi, were employing mortars, artillery and armored vehicles. He said
the Shi'ite force overran and captured the military base at the entrance to
Jawf on March 20.
This marked the heaviest fighting between the Shi'ites and the
government in 2011. Arab diplomats said the Shi'ite revolt was being
equipped and trained by Iranian elements, particularly Hizbullah and the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In February 2010, the Believing Youth movement reached a ceasefire
accord with the Saleh regime. But the two sides have occasionally battled in
northern Yemen amid accusations that each was violating the agreement.