Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh has called on the country’s Houthi fighters to enter into the county’s political arena by forming a party.

Hailing an early February ceasefire reached with the Hezbollah fighters based in the beleaguered north, Saleh said the group could play a role in the country’s politics as a political party.

The remarks come almost a month after the Houthis accepted the central government’s conditions in a bid to put an end to a massive onslaught in the north, backed by the Saudi and US military forces and logistics.

The joint offensive drove some 150,000 people out of their homes in battlefields in northern Yemen, Sa’ada province in particular.

Hundreds of people, including a large number of civilians, were killed since Yemen’s stepped up offensive was launched in August.

Last week, Houthi fighters complained that Sana’a had kept its siege over the capital of the northern Shia-dominated province of Sa’ada in contrast to the terms of the ceasefire.

“The army continues to this moment to refuse to lift the siege on the city of Sa’ada,” the Houthis said on their website, adding that the Yemeni soldiers were re-establishing military checkpoints on the newly-opened roads, Reuters reported.

The fighters said that the army was preventing citizens from entering their homes and was also preventing food supplies from reaching the war-stricken regions.

Some 187 children were killed as the result of the government and Saudi attacks during the war, said a recent report issued by UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) and the Yemen children’s rights organization.

Yemen’s Hezbollah Movement Houthi fighters say the central government has kept its siege over the capital of the northern province of Sa’ada.

“The army continues to this moment to refuse to lift the siege on the city of Sa’ada,” the Houthis said on their website on Thursday, adding that the Yemeni soldiers were re-establishing military checkpoints on the newly-opened roads, Reuters reported.

“They are preventing citizens from entering their homes,” They said. The Houthis added that the government is also preventing food supplies from reaching the war-hit regions.

The Yemeni government intensified its armed campaign against the Hezbollahs in August, accusing the Houthis of taking foreign visitors hostage.

Some 187 children were killed as a result of the government and Saudi attacks during the war, said a recent report issued by UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) and the Yemen children’s rights organization.

The Houthi grievance on Thursday comes only two weeks after the parties reached a truce agreement.

Houthi fighters in Yemen say they have withdrawn from an area near the Saudi border a day after they released a captive Saudi soldier as a good-will gesture to end a six-month war in north Yemen.

“We withdrew today from the Manazla front in the Malahidh region, near the Saudi border, and more precisely from Jebel Dahr Homar,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam told AFP on Tuesday.

According to the spokesman, 30 road blocks have been removed along this road, allowing the Yemeni army to reach the border and deploy along it.

The fighters offered an initiative to end the war when they announced a “withdrawal from Saudi territory and ending the war,” last month.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi called on both Sana’a and Riyadh to end the conflict, which has so far claimed the lives of countless civilians and displaced thousands of others in the beleaguered northern villages.

Saudi Arabia, however, has continued its attacks on the region and has so far refused to release the Houthi prisoners it is holding in exchange for five Saudi soldiers–one of whom was released on Monday.

Meanwhile, Yemen insists that as well as releasing all prisoners and opening roads in the north, the fighters have to withdraw from government buildings, return the arms seized from security forces, hand over captured army posts and pledge not to attack Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh joined Yemen’s offensive against the Houthis after accusing the Hezbollahi fighters of killing a Saudi border guard and occupying two border villages on November 3. Saudi jets began bombing Yemen’s northern villages the following day.

The Yemeni army has accused the Houthi fighters of breaking a ceasefire, only hours after it came into effect.

The Houthis have killed three soldiers in Iqab and a fourth in Al-Ain district while some others have suffered injuries in the country’s north on Friday, claimed the head of military operations in Sa’ada province, General Mohammed Abdullah al-Qussi.

He added that he personally escaped an assassination attempt after the Shia fighters opened fire on his car on Friday.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthi fighters.

Army commanders said the ceasefire came into effect at midnight (2100 GMT Thursday) after Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to halt assaults on Houthi positions in a bid to end six years of on and off fighting.

The truce came two weeks after the Hezbollah fighters offered a unilateral ceasefire with the government to protect civilian lives.

The United Nations says over 200,000 civilians have been displaced and hundreds have been killed since Sana’a started the war on the Houthis.

Saudi fighter jets have launched a new round of airstrikes on Houthi positions in northern Yemen despite a truce offer put forward by the Hezbollah fighters.

According to a statement released by the fighters on Friday, Saudi warplanes carried out 33 airstrikes on the districts of Hinbah, Qatabir, Bani Maaz, Shada, Muhazat, al-Ammar and villages in close proximity of the regions bordering the oil-rich kingdom.

Saudi military aircraft dropped several bombs on homes in the conflict areas, resulting in the civilian casualties.

The statement added that Saudi forces had fired 120 rockets on the beleaguered areas of Shada, al-Malaheet, Qamamat and al-Madafin.

Meanwhile, Houthi fighters managed to stop Yemeni forces trying to infiltrate Jebel Dhar Hamar overnight and set a number of army vehicles ablaze.

Yemen’s Houthi fighters say provided that they do not come under fire, the Shia forces will not attack the Saudi and Yemeni armies.

“As long as no one attacks us, we will not target any party,” AFP quoted a statement posted online by the office of Yemen Hezbollah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

Last week, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi offered to accept the government’s five-point truce terms in a bid “to avoid…the annihilation of civilians.”

The fighters withdrew from at least 46 positions along the Saudi-Yemen border as a goodwill gesture to end the months-long clashes in the north.

Riyadh announced victory last week after the fighters’ truce offer and their subsequent departure from the border towns, claiming the fighters had been forced out of the positions.

The Yemeni government launched an all-out war against Houthi fighters in August and was soon joined by the Saudi army.

The joint military action has taken a heavy toll on civilians in northern Yemen, drawing repeated warnings from human rights organizations about the humanitarian crisis there.

Twenty three Yemeni government soldiers have reportedly been killed by Yemen Hezbollah Movement Houthi fighters in two separate incidents in northern Yemen.

Fifteen Yemeni government troopers lost their lives in an ambush on a military supply convoy in the Wadi al-Jabara district, while the other 8 soldiers were killed in clashes in the city of Saada.

The Yemeni offensive against Yemen Hezbollah Movement Houthis, which was joined by Riyadh in November, has so far claimed the lives of many civilians and displaced thousands of others from their homes in northern villages.

The developments come as the Yemen Hezbollah Movement Houthi fighters offered to accept the six conditions for a truce originally set by the government at the end of last month.

Yemen has stepped up its military operation in the region despite the offer by the Yemen Hezbollah Movement Houthi leader to end the six-month conflict.

At least fourteen civilians have been killed and dozens more have suffered injuries as Saudi fighter jets pounded the alleged strongholds of Hezbollahi Houthi fighters in northern parts of Yemen despite a truce offer put forth by the Hezbollahi fighters.

According to a statement released by the fighters on Thursday, Saudi warplanes carried out 13 aerial attacks on al-Sha’af district in the northern Yemeni governorate of al-Jawf.

The fighter jets dropped several bombs on homes in the conflict area, killing 14 people, among them 10 women and children, lost lives.

The statement added that Saudi forces also fired 620 rockets — 360 during the day and 260 others during the evening — against the beleaguered areas of Shada, al-Malaheet, al-Hurra and Qafarah.

Meanwhile, Hezbollahi Houthi fighters says they have managed to kill an unspecified number of Yemeni soldiers and wounding several others, while repulsing an overnight government incursion into Hasana district.

Furthermore, the Hezbollahi fighters said that they resisted a government operation into Jabal Dhar Hamar and set some army vehicles ablaze.

The Hezbollahi Houthi fighters have repeatedly said that they would not open fire on the Saudi and Yemeni armies, if they were not attacked.

“As long as no one attacks us, we would not target any party,” AFP quoted a Tuesday statement posted online by the office of Hezbollahi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

On Saturday, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi offered to accept the government’s five-point truce terms in a bid “to avoid…the annihilation of civilians.”

The fighters withdrew from at least 46 positions along the Saudi-Yemen border as a goodwill gesture to end months of clashes in the beleaguered northern Yemen.

Riyadh announced victory last week after the fighters’ truce offer and their consequent departure from the border towns, claiming the fighters had been forced out of their positions.

The Yemeni government launched an all-out war against fighters in August and was soon joined by the Saudi army.

The joint military action has taken a heavy toll on civilians in northern Yemen, drawing repeated warnings from human rights organizations about a humanitarian crisis there.

Saudi aerial and artillery attacks on northern Yemen have continued, despite a call for truce, in line with the terms of which Yemeni Hezbollahi fighters say they have withdrawn from their positions on the Saudi border.

The Hezbollahi Houthi fighters said on their website that the Saudi army had pounded civilian homes in northern Yemen with artillery on Thursday.

The Saudi army launched more than 570 missiles, and has conducted 21 sorties against the northern areas in Yemen, the Hezbollahi fighters said.

This is while on Monday, the Houthi fighters withdrew from at least 46 positions along the Saudi-Yemeni border as a goodwill gesture to end months of clashes in the region and to prevent the loss of more civilian lives.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia regarding the recent attacks.

Meanwhile, Yemeni police said on Thursday that they arrested Faris Mana, who had been on Yemen’s black list as of October, Reuters reported.

Mana, who headed a committee trying to mediate between the government and the Houthi fighters, is identified as a top Yemeni arms dealer.

Pakistan has reportedly sent an army combat unit to Yemen to join the war against the Hezbollahi fighters in the country’s north.

An informed source with the Pakistani daily Jang has said that a 300-strong unit of Special Forces has been deployed in Yemen.

US media reports say the US military and intelligence agencies are involved in joint operations with Yemeni troops.

Yemen launched a military offensive against the Houthi fighters in the northern Sa’ada Province last August. Saudi Arabia joined forces with the Yemeni government in November.

Sana’a accuses the Hezbollahi fighters of violating terms of a ceasefire in 2009 by taking foreign visitors hostage.

The Houthis accuse the Yemeni government of violating their civil rights and marginalizing them politically, economically, and religiously.

The Hezbollahi fighters say the offensives launched against the northern regions mostly target residential areas and result in civilian casualties.

Islamabad’s controversial decision is expected to cause public outrage in a country, which is similarly targeted by indiscriminate missile attacks.

The Pakistani public holds regular demonstrations to condemn Washington’s drone attacks on remote tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

The US claims that the attacks are aimed at eliminating militant positions. However, they usually result in civilian casualties.

Houthi fighters in Yemen say Saudi air raids continue to strike northern areas of the country even after their leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi called for a ceasefire with Riyadh.

In a statement released by al-Houthi’s office, the fighters said Saudi warplanes carried out attacks on al-Maran region in north of the country.

Several other civilians were wounded in the attacks.

The air raids were launched against the fighters after they withdrew from at least 46 positions along the Saudi-Yemeni border.

According to the statement, the pull-back by the fighters came as a gesture of goodwill to end the three-month clashes in the region. Saudi Arabia joined the Yemeni government’s campaign against the Houthi fighters in November 2009.

In a message posted on the internet on Monday, al-Houthi offered a truce to Saudi Arabia to avoid further civilian casualties.

He however threatened to wage an “open war” should Riyadh continue attacks on northern Yemen.

Houthi fighters in Yemen initiate a cease-fire offer with Saudi Arabia as fighting in the north continues to take its toll on civilians.

In an audio statement on the fighters’ website, Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said the fighters will retreat from their positions on the Saudi border.

Al-Houthi said the withdrawal offer is to stop the civilian casualties inflicted by Saudi attacks. He, however, warned that any military incursion into Yemen by the Saudis will result in an open-warfare.

The Shia fighters also announced that seven civilians have been killed in the latest Saudi air raids, adding that they have destroyed dozens of Saudi tanks and military vehicles since November.

“We are prepared to withdraw from [those] sites if… Saudi Arabia does not attack any one of us from its territory,” a spokesman for the Houthis, Mohammed Abdel Salam, told AFP.

The conflict between the central government in Sana’a and the Houthis of northern Yemen began in 2004 and grew increasingly tense in August 2009 when the Yemeni army launched Operation Scorched Earth, alleging that the Houthi fighters had violated the terms of a ceasefire by taking foreign visitors hostage.

The Saudi military, which joined the war in November, says more than 130 of their soldiers have been killed in Yemen, with an unspecified number listed as missing in action.

The Red Cross says humanitarian conditions in Yemen are at their worst after five months of fighting between Saudi forces and the Houthi fighters.

The Swiss-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Monday that the war in northern Yemen has dramatically worsened the fate of civilians in the area.

In a statement ahead of an international conference on Yemen in London this week, the body’s deputy director of operations said ICRC workers are struggling to reach Yemenis in need of help.

The Red Cross also re-issued a warning that Yemen is facing a humanitarian crisis that will hamper its long-term development.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed and nearly 200,000 have been displaced in the ongoing war in northern Yemen.

A predominantly Shia region, Sa’ada Province in northern Yemen borders the southwestern Saudi Arabian provinces of Asir, Jizan and Najiran. The area has been the target of Yemeni government and Saudi airstrikes and bombardments.

Houthi fighters charge that Saudi Arabia has provided the Yemeni army with military equipment and encouraged the government to destroy Houthi positions in the north.

They also accused Riyadh of targeting civilian areas far from the Saudi-Yemeni border.

Saudi Arabia joined the war in November 2009 — three months after the Yemeni government intensified the fight against the Houthis.

Sana’a accuses the Shia fighters of breaching terms of a ceasefire agreement by taking foreign visitors hostage in 2009 — a charge the Houthis deny.

At least seven civilians have been killed and dozens more suffered injuries as Saudi fighter jets pounded the alleged strongholds of Houthi fighters in Yemen’s rugged northern region of Jebel Razih near the border with the oil-rich kingdom.

According to a statement issued by the Shia Houthi fighters on Sunday, Saudi warplanes dropped several bombs on homes in the conflict area, as a result of which six members of a family lost their lives when their residence was destroyed during the airstrikes. Another local, Nasser Qaed al-Razihi, was killed and two of his family members sustained injuries when a bomb landed on their home.

The statement added that Saudi forces also fired 626 rockets at the beleaguered areas of Jebel al-Madood, Qafarah, al-Majdaha, Qamamat, al-Malaheet, al-Minzala, and al-Jabiri in northern Yemen.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Shia Houthis on Sunday managed to repulse Yemeni government troops trying to infiltrate into al-Minzala. An unspecified number of government soldiers were killed in the battle.

The conflict in northern Yemen between Sana’a and Houthi fighters began in 2004. The conflict intensified in August 2009 when the Yemeni army launched Operation Scorched Earth in an attempt to crush the fighters in the northern province of Sa’ada.

The Houthis accuse the Yemeni government of violating their civil rights and marginalizing them politically, economically, and religiously.

Saudi forces began fighting with Yemeni Shia resistance fighters, known as Houthis, and bombing their positions on November 4 after accusing the fighters of killing Saudi border guards.

Houthi fighters say that Saudi forces strike Yemeni villages and indiscriminately target civilians. They also say that the Saudis are using toxic materials, including white phosphorus, in the attacks on northern Yemen.

The US military has also been involved in the bombing of Yemen’s northern regions of Amran, Hajjah, and Sa’ada, according to the Houthi fighters.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that since 2004, up to 175,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Sa’ada and take refuge in overcrowded camps set up by the United Nations.

Houthi fighters say the Saudi army has conducted 18 airstrikes in the latest attacks along the border of northern Yemen.

The Houthis said late on Saturday that hundreds of Saudi rockets and mortar shells were fired into villages in Sa’ada province overnight.

On Friday, the Houthis said a number of advances by government forces had been repelled and several tanks had been destroyed.

Their leader, Abdel Malik al-Houthi, posted video footage on the group’s website dismissing Yemeni government allegations of his death. The video showed al-Houthi to be in good health, contrary to reports suggesting he had been seriously injured.

The Houthis say they are fighting to defend civilians being targeted in coordinated operations by Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Both countries deny the accusation.

Yemen launched an offensive against the Houthis in Sa’ada back in August — three months before Riyadh joined in the attacks.

In early November, Saudi troops undertook their largest mobilization since the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War and began overtly attacking the Houthi fighters from the ground and the air.

The Houthis, who until recently controlled a large swathe of mountain territory in Yemen’s northwestern province of Sa’ada, have been under a sustained military assault by Yemen ground and air forces since August.

Meanwhile, Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan said on Saturday that the Saudi military had recovered the bodies of 20 of the 26 Saudi soldiers listed as missing in the fighting since November.

On January 12, he had put the death toll for Saudi troops at 82.

Earlier this week, the southern region commander, General Ali Zaid al-Khawaji, said that 113 soldiers had died and that several more had most likely been captured by the Houthis, Saudi Arabia’s official news agency SPA reported.

The press office of the Yemeni Hezbollahi Movement Houthi fighters released video footage of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi on Saturday in response to certain media reports, questioning the Movement leader’s health.

The 38-second video showed a tired al-Houthi unable to move his left arm, but disproved media reports that he had had one leg amputated following an injury.

The leader was asked by the Houthi press office in the video for his take on the government’s insistence that he had been wounded and targeted in a number of assassination attempts.

Al-Houthi rejected the claims as lies, saying “the regime would make up such statements to justify its massacres and the targeting of civilians — among them women and children.”

The press office said they had released the video following a media campaign to show that their leader is in good health. “The state’s intelligence apparatus is a failure as is Sana’a’s hostilities and oppressive incursion against the Yemeni nation,” it added.

Early last week, Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister for Internal Affairs Sadiq Amin Abu Ras had likewise confirmed that al-Houthi is alive.

Since August, Sana’a has maximized its military offensives against the fighters accusing them of breaking the terms of earlier peace agreements by taking foreigners hostage.

Yahya al-Houthi, Yemeni parliamentarian and Abdul-Malik’s brother, last Saturday blamed the kidnapping on the central regime’s affiliates and elements within the intelligence service.

The anti-Shia raids were in November joined by Saudi Arabia, which blames Houthis for attacking one of its border checkpoints.

The Houthis, however, say they are defending their people’s civil rights, which the government has undermined under pressure from the Saudi-backed Wahhabis — extremists with adherence to an extremely intolerant interpretation of Islam.

The raids have so far killed hundreds of people and forced tens of thousands of civilians out of their homes.

Riyadh has announced new casualties of its war on the Houthi fighters of Yemen after the bodies of 20 Saudi soldiers were found along the border.

Assistant Minister of Defense, Prince Khaled bin Sultan, said the bodies were found months after they disappeared during an attack on Muslim fighters in northern Yemen, United Press International reported.

Prince Khaled said six other soldiers remain missing.

Saudi Arabia launched ground and aerial attacks against Houhti fighters after accusing them of killing a Saudi border guard and occupying two border villages on November 3.

Saudi jets began bombing Yemen’s northern villages the following day and continue the raids on the region.

Over the months of attacks, Yemeni civilians have been the target of Saudi strikes, according to the fighters.

Houthis accuse Riyadh of using unconventional weapons against the civilian population of the region.

Houthi fighters say that they have managed to repulse an attack which was launched by the Saudi Arabian army into northern Yemen.

According to Lebanon’s Al-Manar television network, Houthi fighters said in a statement that they repulsed Saudi Arabia’s attack in the Jebel Dhar al-Hamar region and the villages around it on Friday.

According to the Houthis, Saudi fighters also pounded various areas in northern Yemen four times.

The conflict in northern Yemen began in 2004 between Sana’a and Houthi fighters. It intensified in August 2009 when the Yemeni army launched Operation Scorched Earth in an attempt to crush the fighters in the northern province of Sa’ada.

Saudi forces began fighting with Yemeni Shia resistance fighters and bombing their positions on November 4, 2009 after accusing the fighters of killing Saudi border guards.

Sana’a claims the fighters are seeking to revive the imamate form of government that ceased in Yemen in 1962.

The Houthis accuse the Yemeni government of large-scale corruption, violation of civil rights, and the economic and political marginalization of their group because of religious belief.

Houthi fighters say that Riyadh regularly strikes Yemeni villages and indiscriminately targets civilians. According to the fighters, Saudis are using toxic materials, including white phosphorus bombs, against civilians in northern Yemen.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that since 2004, up to 175,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Sa’ada and take refuge in overcrowded camps.

Houthi fighters in Yemen claim to have parried incursions by the army into their strongholds in the north, forcing government troops to retreat with their tanks ablaze.

The Houthis said they repelled the Yemeni soldiers who stormed their position on Thursday in the border village of al-Jabiri, 966 kilometers (600 miles) from the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Four army tanks were destroyed in fierce clashes, the Houthis said, adding that they repelled another government advance in the northern Kataf district.

Yemen has maintained the bombardment of the northern city of Sa’ada, prompting a response from Houthi fighters who in retaliation attacked the city’s military command center.

Officials in Sana’a had no comment on the latest clashes.

Meanwhile, Saudi attacks in the north continued with more than a dozen airstrikes conducted by the Royal Saudi Air Force targeting civilian areas, the Houthis said.

Saudi Arabia has been pounding northern Yemen for months as part of a joint campaign with Sana’a against the Houthi fighters. The fighting has been costly for Riyadh, Houthis said.

Saudi Maj. Gen. Ali Zaid Al-Khawalji said the army has tasked units with retrieving the bodies of slain Saudi soldiers.

He said a number of Saudi troops — a lieutenant colonel who was a veteran of the first war in the Persian Gulf — had been killed in clashes with Houthi fighters in the area last week.

Saudi intervention, which began in November, has left at least 113 troops killed and hundreds of others wounded.

Houthis accuse Riyadh of targeting civilian areas far from the Saudi-Yemeni border. They say the attacks have so far left scores of civilians killed and thousands of others displaced.

Saudi fighter jets have launched another round of aerial bombardment of Houthi positions in northern Yemen along the border with the oil-rich kingdom.

According to a statement released by the Houthi fighters on Thursday, Saudi forces carried out 25 aerial attacks on the northern regions of Jebel Razih, Jebel Dhar Hamar, Khamis al-Mihwar, Saqin, Jebel al-Madood, al-Malaheet, as well as the rugged villages in close proximity to the border regions of the oil-rich kingdom.

Several homes were reportedly torn down while more than a dozen people lost their lives in the strikes.

The statement added that Saudi forces also fired some 750 rockets against the beleaguered areas of Jebel al-Madood, Qafarah, Shada, Qamamat, al-Safih as well as al-Jabiri — some 966 kilometers from the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The conflict in northern Yemen began in 2004 between Sana’a and Houthi fighters. The conflict intensified in August 2009 when the Yemeni army launched Operation Scorched Earth in an attempt to crush the fighters in the northern province of Sa’ada.

The Houthis accuse the Yemeni government of violation of their civil rights, and political, economic and religious marginalization, on top of a large-scale corruption.

Saudi forces began fighting with Yemeni Shia resistance fighters, known as the Houthis, and bombing their positions on November 4 after accusing the fighters of killing Saudi border guards.

Houthi fighters say that Saudi forces strike Yemeni villages and indiscriminately target civilians. According to the fighters, Saudis use toxic materials, including white phosphorus bombs, indiscriminately in northern Yemen.

The US military has also been involved in bombing Yemen’s northern regions of Amran, Hajjah and Sa’ada, according to the Houthi fighters.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that since 2004, up to 175,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Sa’ada where they have take refuge at overcrowded camps set up by the United Nations.