Yemeni Officials Say Shiite Rebels Advance in Western City

[Capt. Obvious]

Source: New York Times

Yemeni security officials in the western city of Taiz say Shiite rebels have captured two neighborhoods in heavy fighting with government troops.

The officials, who are neutral in a conflict that has split Yemen's security forces, said Tuesday that 40 Shiite rebels and 15 pro-government fighters have been killed in the last 24 hours in Taiz, Yemen's third largest city. They say shelling by the rebels, known as Houthis, has killed three civilians.

The officials say Houthis seized the Jabal al-Waash and the Madinat al-Saleh areas, both on the city's western outskirts. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief reporters.

The U.N. says the conflict in Yemen has killed more than 2,100 civilians.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/09/15/world/middleeast/ap-ml-yemen.html?_r=0

[polly7]

1. Yemen is being destroyed. nt.

[Xithras]

2. The grand irony of Yemen...

...is that, of all the sides fighting, the Houthi's are actually the most moderate and tolerant. Opposing them you have the Yemeni Salafist government (a clone of the Saudi government), the Saudi government itself (which, as we all know, is only "moderate" if you're comparing them to the Taliban or the IS), and AQAP, which sees the Yemeni and Saudi governments as too liberal, and wants to exterminate the Houthis for not being "real" Muslims.

I'm not saying that the Houthi's aren't assholes who have their own problems, but their belief system is FAR more tolerant than pretty much everyone they're fighting.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. And we're allied with the Saudis. Providing support for their military campaign.