Yemen Obtains Evidence of Iranian Aid to Al Houthi
Middle East Newsline-Report Section
Sep 21, 2004
CAIRO -- Yemen was said to have obtained evidence that a Shi'ite insurgency in the north was aided by Iran. Yemeni sources said Sanaa's intelligence and security agencies have determined that the "Believing Youth" movement of Hussein Badr Eddin Al Houthi was financed, armed and trained by a foreign power over the last few years. The sources identified the power as Iran, but said the funds came through a third country.
The information was said to have been disclosed in wake of interrogations by a Yemeni security team of captured fighters of the Believing Youth. The sources said the Yemeni team found evidence of foreign involvement in the Shi'ite insurgency, which began on June 18 and declared to have been quelled in early September.
The sources said the security team determined that an unspecified number of fighters were trained in Iran and Lebanon. They said some of the fighters were supported by dissidents, including opposition political movements, within Yemen.