US sends Special Forces to Yemen amid escalating conflict

 
Local Editor, 14-12-2009
US Special Forces have been sent to Yemen to train its army, while the Yemeni military supported by the Saudi Arabian army has been fighting local Houthis fighters in the north of the country.
The update takes place amid escalating fears that foreign intervention in Yemen will put civilians in dreadful condition.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph on Sunday, American officials claimed that US forces have been sent to Yemen to prevent the country from turning into a "reserve base" for al-Qaeda.
On the contrary, Yemeni army is not fighting with al-Qaeda militants, which are based in the southern parts of the country.
The conflict in northern Yemen began in 2004 between Sana'a and Houthi fighters. The conflict increased in August 2009 when the Yemeni army launched Operation Scorched Earth in an attempt to defeat the fighters in the northern province of Saada.
The conflict has been complicated when Saudi air force launched its own operations against resistance fighters, using phosphorus bombs.
Houthi fighters on Sunday reported that Saudi forces launched a major cross-border airstrike on Yemen, leaving at least 170 civilian casualties in the northern district of Razeh.
As Sana'a prevents any independent media from entering the conflict zone, thus there are no clear estimates available as to how many people have been killed in the province of Sa'adah since the beginning of the clashes.
International aid agencies and some UN bodies including United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have voiced concern over the harsh condition of the Yemeni civilians.
UNHCR estimates that since 2004, up to 175,000 people have been obliged to leave their homes in Sa'ada and take refuge at overcrowded camps in which, according to UN reports, bad conditions have led to children's deaths.
Arabic Almenpar website reported that US fighter jets have launched 28 attacks on the north western province of Saada.
The US has used modern fighter jets and bombers in its assault against the Yemen fighters, Houthis said in a statement.