The leader of Shiite rebels accused the government on Sunday of discriminating against his group, the Zaidis, vowing to continue the fight against the army. "(The war) is part of the official discrimination, marginalisation and separation practised against us as a social group described by the authorities as a minority," Abdul-Malek al-Huthi said in comments published on his group's website.

"As long as we are being attacked, our choice would be to defend ourselves."

"The war, the destruction and the arrests ... are being waged against our culture," he said, adding that the government detains Zaidis "on ethnic and sectarian grounds".

According to AFP, he said his 90-year-old father Badr Eddine, a religious figure among the Zaidi community, is on a list of 55 wanted rebels.

© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)