San a (Yemen): Some 10,000 civilians in northern Yemen have been displaced from their villages over the past week by sporadic clashes between government troops and Shiite Muslim rebels, said the International Committee of the Red Cross today.

The most recent round of fighting started last Saturday, and troops have been shelling rebel hideouts with artillery in the mountainous Saada province, said a military official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

"In the past six days only, I can say that some 10,000 Yemenis left their villages and sought shelter in the town of Saada," said Iman Monqar, the spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Yemen. The town of Saada is located in the province of the same name.

"We provided mattresses, bed sheets, food, water and other stuff to help facilitate the lives of people affected by the clashes," said Monqar.

The Red Cross official said that a total of 100,000 people in Saada province are struggling with tough living conditions as a result of the fighting. She said the clashes have also spread into other areas, such as the town of Harf Sufian in Arman province, located between Saada and the capital San a.

Thousands of people have been killed in the Saada area since a Shiite rebellion erupted there in June 2004. Monqar said it was not possible to determine accurately the number of people killed and injured in the latest round of fighting.

The rebellion started when cleric Hussein Badr Eddin al-Hawthi ordered his followers to take up arms against the government. The cleric was eventually killed in a battle later that year, but his brother, Abdel Malak al-Hawthi, took his place.

Source : PTI