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Tuesday 2 February 2010

Saudis raid Yemen despite Houthi pledge for peace

Saudi airstrikes continue to target northern Yemen despite Houthis pledging to meet the key condition of not attacking Saudi Arabia set by the Yemeni government.

Houthi fighters said Tuesday that Saudi warplanes had been bombarding the country's north, including the Al-Saqin district.

According to the fighters, Saudi forces poured rockets and artillery shells on border areas.

The fighters offered an initiative to end a nearly six-month conflict when they announced a "withdrawal from Saudi territory and ending the war," the office of leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a statement.

He called on both Sana'a and Riyadh to end the conflict, which has so far claimed the lives of countless civilians and displaced thousands of others in the beleaguered northern villages.

Al-Houthi offered on Saturday to accept the government's five-point truce terms, if the government halts military attacks on the north.

However, the government rejected the offer, pointing to a sixth condition stipulating a Houthi pledge not to attack Saudi Arabia.

Despite the pledge to meet the sixth condition, Riyadh continues to attack Shia-populated areas in the Yemeni north. PressTV