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Fighting intensified between Saudi and Yemeni forces on one side and Houthi rebels on the other as hundreds were killed on both sides. The Saudi forces announced the re-capture of the strategic Al Dood mountain.
The Saudis have deployed fighter-bombers, heavy artillery, special forces and marines to force Houthis away from the border and stop illegal border crossing.
Saudi Prince Khaled said Saudi forces had captured 75 Ethiopians and 70 Somalis in border operations, and said they were being interrogated, without specifying if they were involved in the fighting.
It was reported that the Saudis received support of special forces from regional countries, notably Jordan, to assist in the fighting.
November 30, 2009
Analysis and Forecast: increasing risk
The sixth Sa’ada war that started off as an internal civil war in Yemen has become a regional conflict. The longer the conflict continues, the more serious the repercussions will be to the Shiite-Sunni relations in Saudi Arabia and the GCC region as a whole. Reports of support from Jordan is an indication of the seriousness of the situation and that the fighting is by no means with a small group of rebels.
The announcement by Prince Khaled that Somali and Ethiopians were arrested in the fighting could mean that Al Qaeda is now fighting the Saudi forces on the side of the Houthis. Whilst there is little in terms of ideological affinity between Al Qaeda and the Shiite Houthis, the common Saudi enemy could have brought them together. If indeed this proved the case, then the conflict is taking a more serious long-term dimension, as both Saudi Arabia and Yemen lack no Al Qaeda fighters.
