Yemen offers cease-fire to Shiite insurgents

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Writer

SAN'A, Yemen – Yemen offered a conditional cease-fire on Saturday to the Shiite rebels it is battling in the north, following international concern over a deadly airstrike against civilians displaced from the war zones.

The government decision comes after both the U.N. and the U.S. urged a cease-fire to allow food supplies and medical aid to reach the tens of thousands of civilians that have fled weeks of fighting between the rebels and the army.

Rebels responded cautiously to the offer, which comes right before the Eid al-Fitr holiday ending the fasting month of Ramadan, and told the Associated Press they would monitor the situation on the ground first.

On Wednesday government jets bombed a makeshift camp packed with displaced people near the front-line town of Harf Sufyan, witnesses put the death toll at 87, most of them women and children.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the U.S. embassy in San'a expressed concern over the strikes Friday and called for an end to the fighting.

In their statement on the cease-fire, the government said the move was in response to the international calls. This is second cease-fire in two weeks, the last one fell apart in a matter of hours.

While the rebels have said they would welcome any unconditional cease-fire, the government has set down five conditions for the end of hostilities, including removing road blocks and barricades, withdrawal of rebel forces, release of detained military personnel and property, and abiding by the constitution and law.

The Shiite tribesmen, led by Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi, have so far refused to hand over their weapons or release any war prisoners. They accuse the government of not fulfilling its obligations under previous cease-fire agreements, including freeing rebel detainees, paying compensation to victims and rebuilding villages ravaged by fighting.