A Saudi civil rights group has called on King Abdullah to launch an investigation into alleged abuses the Interior Ministry committed under the guise of “fighting terrorism.”

In an open letter to the King, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Activists accused the ministry of torturing prisoners, saying that the practice was now in use on a larger scale, Reuters reported.

“[We call for] establishing a fact-finding committee in order to protect political rights against potential abuses under the pretext of fighting terror, maintaining security, and defending Islamic faith,” read the letter.

“The Interior Ministry [has] insisted on tarnishing the reputations of activists who … [reject] oppression and injustice because they called for political reform,” the group said.

The group also criticized the lack of reforms and restrictions on freedom of expression, which has provoked violence and extremism in the country.

“Those who impede reform [have a role] in the production … of violence, because the violent campaign did not begin [until] means of peaceful expression were stifled,” the rights group said.

The monarchy prohibits all political parties, unsanctioned private associations and NGOs.

Pro-democracy activists in the kingdom often face arrest and detention without a charge or trial, according to activists.

They say the Interior Ministry arrested thousands of people on charges of terror activities. Many of the detainees are believed merely to be activists demanding reforms, according to critics.

Activists have circulated petitions and called for fair trials for activists, who remain in jail without trial.

Islamic Iran’s top lawmaker holds world powers responsible for atrocities committed in the region, stressing that they are the ones that must put things back in order.

“They must resolve the challenges and crises that regional countries face today,” Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said during a Sunday night meeting with the visiting head of Austria’s National Council Defense Commission, Peter Fitschen Bauer.

Larijani also criticized the powers for what he called their inconsistency in fighting terrorism and said that Iran had always fulfilled a positive role in the region as its policies pursued peace.

For his part, the Austrian parliamentarian said that it was strategically important for Afghanistan to benefit from the capacities of a reliable neighbor like Iran in building a stable and peaceful country.

According to 2007 estimates published by an independent London-based polling agency Opinion Research Business over a million Iraqis have died in the violence since invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Unfortunately there are no estimates available on the number of civilians who have been killed in Afghanistan since the 2001 coalition invasion, but according to the latest UN report over 1,500 Afghans have been killed just in the first half of 2009.

This is the equivalent of 10 Virginia Tech shootings in Iraq and Afghanistan everyday.

Each fortnight as many Iraqi and Afghan civilians are killed as the entire amount of US military personnel killed since the beginning of the invasion of Afghanistan in 2002 and of Iraq in 2003.

As Yemen continues its military campaign against the Houthi fighters in the north, US President Barack Obama offers assistance to battle Shia Muslims.

On Sunday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh received a letter from Obama, which pledged economic aid and assistance in fighting terrorism, the Yemeni SABA news agency reported.

“The security of Yemen is vital for the security of the United States,” said Obama in the letter, which was delivered to Saleh by the assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism John Brennan.

In the letter, Obama hailed what he called the partnership between the two countries in fighting terrorism and said that the Shia Muslims organization poses a common threat to everyone.

The US president also said that Washington would adopt a new initiative to help Yemen confront “development challenges and supporting reform efforts,” along with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, donor states and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Obama’s letter came as the Yemeni government forces once again breached a temporary truce with the Zaidi Shia fighters they are fighting with in the north.

Since 2004, the Yemini army and the Zaidi Shia fighters have been engaged in violent periodic clashes, in a war which has claimed the lives of thousands and displaced up to 15,000 civilians- based on UN High Commission for Refugees estimates.

After just over a year of relative peace, a fifth round of fighting erupted on August 11, as the Yemeni government decided to launch a new wave of attacks against the northern provinces of Sa’dah and Amran.

Since then, several attempts have been made to restore truce between the two sides, but the government has renewed the fighting.

The Yemeni government accuses the Houthis of trying to restore a Zaidi imamate system, which was overthrown in a 1962 coup.

The rebels, however, say they are defending their people, which make up around 40 of Yemen’s population, against religious oppression and fighting for their civil rights.

The conflict has also affected other regional states, as San’a has accused Iran, Libya and Iraq of providing the fighters with weapons- allegations that have been denied by all three countries.

The rebels have also claimed that Saudi Arabia is “directly supporting” the government’s military offensive by providing it with different types of weapons, military vehicles and financial aid.

A website for Houthi fighters recently released new footage of what they say proves that the Yemeni army is using Saudi Arabian weapons.

Meanwhile in Iraq, Independent MP Izzat Shabandar lashed out at San’a on Monday, calling its accusations “ridiculous” and charging that Yemen has created a sanctuary for Saddam Hossein loyalists and al-Qaeda leaders.

After Pakistan, Yemen is seen as the primary haven for al-Qaeda militants, who are using the country to organize and train more recruits.

Although there was no mention in the SABA report of Obama making any specific reference to the conflict with Houthi fighters, it did point out that the US president had touched upon the need to fight al-Qaeda.

Last month, Yemeni forces launched anti-terrorist operations in a tribal area known as an al-Qaeda safe haven.

However, after a short while and without reaching any significant results, they ended the operation claiming that it was more imperative to address the situation in the north.

Obama’s offer to help fight Al-Qaeda to Sana’a – which has not demonstrated a strong detrmination to eradicate the terorist group -comes as the latest opinion polls indicate that most Americans are opposed to US “war on terrror” in Afghanistan.

A recent national poll published by the CNN showed that 57 percent of Americans are opposed to the Afghan war, while only 42 percent of respondents approve of Washington’s alleged military campaign against the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies.

US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to allegedly eradicate militancy and arrest militan leaders .More than 8 years after the invasion, top Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders arre still at large.