Yemen says takes rebel leaders, rebels show captives
SANAA, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Yemen said on Thursday it had arrested 20 northern insurgents fighting for autonomy including two rebel leaders, while the Shi'ite rebels posted a video of soldiers it said were captured in recent fighting.
Media have had difficulty verifying conflicting reports from each side after various ceasefire offers from each side came to nothing in a conflict that has alarmed Saudi Arabia and Western nations who fear the instability could benefit al Qaeda.
Last week dozens of civilians were reported dead in two army air raids, sparking condemnation from aid organisations and Yemeni rights groups.
The interior ministry said 12 people surrendered to them in Saada on Wednesday as the old city was "cleansed" of sleeper cells. "This is an important indicator of the state of complete collapse among the rebel gangs," a statement on the state news agency Saba said.
In a separate announcement on the ruling party website a security source said that eight rebels were captured in old Saada, including two leaders called Ibrahim Abd al-Ilah al-Hashhoush and Qassem Abdullah Bashir.
The rebels, known as Houthis after their clan leaders, said on their website they had captured 90 soldiers from the republican guard in Shaqr Sufyan, an area straddling Saada and Amran provinces which has seen much of the fighting.
They posted video footage of some of them standing in front of a poster saying "God is great, death to America, death to Israel", giving their names and military position.
"The authorities have made 48 operations in Sufyan that have all come to nothing," it said.
United Nations groups say around 150,000 people have been made refugees since the fighting began in 2004 and thousands are living in official and makeshift camps. The situation worsened after Sanaa launched Operation Scorched Earth last month.
The government says the rebels want to restore a Shi'ite state that fell in the 1960s and accuse Shi'ite power Iran of having contact with them.
The rebels say they want autonomy, blame Sanaa for the spread of Sunni fundamentalism from Saudi Arabia, and accuse Saleh of despotism and corruption in a drive to stay in power.
(Reporting by Andrew Hammond)
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