Non-Subscriber Extract
Yemen's Houthi rebellion has a regional dimension
10 November 2009
The Yemeni army has been embroiled in a five-year conflict with insurgents mainly in the Sadah province. (PA)
The killing of a Saudi Arabian border guard on 4 November after a gunfight with Yemeni rebels has heightened fears about the expansion of the Houthi conflict.
The ongoing Zaidi Shia insurgency in the mountainous north that borders Saudi Arabia is the most pressing problem for President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government.
The ruling General People's Congress Party accused Iran of providing direct support for the Houthi insurgency. Saleh has avoided naming the Iranian government, although he has accused "a number of personalities" of backing the Houthis.
In spite of its increasing intensity, and the 4 November fighting on the Saudi-Yemeni border, the Houthi insurgency is not at present sufficiently critical to significantly change the balance of power in the region. Its continuation could lead Yemen into a period of renewed civil conflict that may have a spill-over effect in the Middle East if Riyadh and Tehran opt to engage in a proxy war against each other on Yemeni soil.