Yemen ceases war with rebels

YEMENI President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared an end to a long-running war with northern Shia rebels that drew in neighbouring Saudi Arabia last year, according to a television interview to be aired yesterday.

But the president, under international pressure to end domestic unrest and focus his country's fight on al-Qaeda, also placed limits on an offer for dialogue with opponents in the south, scene of escalating violence with secessionists.

"We can say the war is over, not stopped or in a truce," Saleh told Al-Arabiya in the interview, referring to the war in the north that has raged on and off since 2004.

The declaration of an end to the northern war was a reversal by Sanaa, which earlier this week had complained that the northern rebels were not fully complying with a slow-going truce deal to end a conflict that has displaced 250,000 people.

Sanaa, struggling to stabilise a fractious country strategically located next door to the world's largest oil exporter, jumped to the forefront of Western security concerns after al- Qaeda's Yemen-based regional arm claimed responsibility for an attempted December attack on a US-bound plane.

Western countries and Saudi Arabia fear al-Qaeda is exploiting the instability in Yemen to recruit and train militants for attacks in the region and beyond.

Analysts say the truce deal between the government and northern rebels was unlikely to last as it does not address rebel complaints of discrimination by Sanaa. Previous truces have not lasted.

But Saleh said there were positive signs of the rebels' commitment to ending the war such as removing landmines, opening roads, removing roadblocks and releasing prisoners. "These are considered positive indications to prove good intention not to return to a new war," he said.

Yemen had said last Thursday it would free Shia rebel prisoners within days under the truce deal, a day after the rebels released at least 170 government soldiers and tribesmen who fought alongside the state. Prior to the release, Sanaa had accused the insurgents of returning to some vacated positions and refusing to hand over landmines removed from the war zone. Saleh took a harder line on the south, limiting an offer for dialogue with opposition there. He said he would only entertain talks with pro-unity elements, not separatists.Reuters