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Monday, July 07, 2008

Hundreds more Arabs killed in Yemen. Arab world yawns.

As a follow up to my post in May about the fighting between Yemen national forces and the Houthis, in the past few days hundreds more have been killed:
For the fourth day in a row, the Yemeni army has been attacking with heavy weaponry and fighter jets several villages in Mirran district and other areas in Amran governorate’s Harf Sifyan district, believed to be another stronghold of Houthi loyalists, tribal sources said Sunday, noting that hundreds on both sides were killed or injured.

“During direct clashes between the army and Houthi supporters, army fighter jets dropped bombs on Saturday, but they missed their targets, instead hitting military positions in the area of Mirran, resulting in an increased death toll involving troops,” the sources continued, pointing out that the same mistake was repeated Sunday morning.

According to the sources, bloody confrontations between army personnel and Houthis have continued for many days in the Mirran mountains as the Yemeni army attempts to score a ground victory and seize control of strategic positions in the area. However, despite backing from fighter jets, the army is facing fierce resistance by Houthis.
Recent events include a 14-year old suicide bomber killing between 4 and 7 people outside a government building, and another suicide bomber that killed a dozen in a mosque.

One would be hard-pressed to find these stories mentioned in most Arab newspapers, let alone the Western press. Because, once again, Arabs murdering Arabs isn't news - it is how everyone, including their darlings on the Left, expect them to act.

It is only newsworthy when there are non-Arabs around who can be blamed for the violence.