Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told Zaidi fighters accused of trying to topple his regime they must surrender their weapons after the killing of seven troops in weekend attacks.
"Those saboteurs and terrorists who belong to Abdul Malek al-Huthi should hand in their heavy and medium weaponry to the (army) command in the Saada region," Saleh said while he attended the opening of the 11th annual conference of Armed Forces Commanders, held under the title "Towards Excellent Goals of the Armed Forces."
In comments reported by the official SABA news agency, Saleh accused some Yemenis, without naming them, of "stirring sedition because they failed in the electoral process." He also charged that "hostile foreign forces" had been involved.
"There are foreign challenges in the region. We see incidents and killings that are perpetrated in Iraq for sectarian reasons," SABA quoted Saleh as saying. "Certain hostile forces are seeking to provoke incidents similar to those in Baghdad," he added. The President affirmed the significance of eradicating such "social diseases" which harm the nation, development, security and stability and deface the country's political system.
