A total of 35 supporters of an anti-US Yemeni preacher holed up in a mountainous northern region have been killed and 60 injured in fierce clashes with the army since late Sunday, military sources said Monday.
The latest deaths raise to at least 166 the number of people killed in the fighting between followers of cleric Hussein Badr Eddin al-Huthi and government forces which broke out June 18 in Saada province, near the Saudi border.
The fatalities include 41 soldiers.
Clashes were still raging at midday Monday in Maran, where Huthi and his supporters were located, the sources told AFP
Huthi, a member of the Zaidi community, is wanted by the authorities for allegedly seeking to foment sectarian strife.
In remarks published Sunday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Huthi to turn himself in, promising him a fair trial. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
