In a television interview on Nov. 6, Al Qirbi identified three GCC
states as supporters of the Believing Youth. In addition to Saudi Arabia,
the foreign minister named Bahrain and Kuwait. Pakistan was said to have
been the source of fighters for the Yemeni rebellion.
Most of the six GCC states have expressed support for Yemen's war
against the Shi'ite rebels. Saudi Arabia has conducted air and artillery
strikes on Shi'ite rebels in northern Yemen.
Officials said Iran was the leading supporter of the Believing Youth.
They said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Teheran's proxy
Hizbullah were sending weapons and training the Shi'ite rebels.
But Al Qirbi said Islamist fighters from Pakistan has joined the Shi'ite
rebels. The foreign minister did not report the capture of the Pakistanis.
"The way the militias operate and the amount of money they spend on the
conflict make the involvement of foreign powers almost a certainty," Al
Qirbi said in an interview with the Saudi-owned satellite channel Al Arabiya
on Nov. 15. "Yemeni intelligence is investigating the involvement of
external parties in supporting the insurgency."
Yemen's ambassador to Kuwait has confirmed the reports of GCC assistance
to the Believing Youth. The ambassador, Khalid Rajeh, said Kuwait has
allowed funds to reach the Shi'ite rebels.
"The Kuwaiti groups have been supporting the rebels financially and
through the media," Rajeh said. "However, the Kuwaiti government has
nothing to do with this support."
