Yemeni Shi'ite rebels warned of a "long war" on Wednesday after the government dismissed their truce offer. "Since the authorities have rejected the initiative, we remind them that they have lost a valuable opportunity," a statement from the office of the rebels' leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said.
"From now on they will see the grave consequences of the war and we promise them major surprises and a long war of attrition, longer than they think and in which we shall be patient. We will stand up to their aggressions and tyranny," he added, according to Reuters.
A government spokesman said the offer contained nothing new. Yemen's Minister of Information Hussein al-Lawzi said conveyed that the initiative of al-Houthi "gang" in the northern Sa'ada region showed their "evil spirit." According to him, this initiative was not directed locally. He stressed that the al-Houthis should commit to the six point truce proposal which the state has recently presented to them as a prime condition to cease fire and to ensure the state control over all districts of the governorate.
