Saadah is not a small place, but the largest in the North Yemen. It began in June 2004 when dissident cleric Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, head of the Shia Zaidiyyah sect, launched an uprising against the Yemeni government. Most of the fighting has taken place in Sa'dah Governorate in northwestern Yemen although some of the fighting spread to neighboring governorates Hajjah, 'Amran, al-Jawf and the Saudi province of Jizan. In August 2009, the Yemeni army launched a fresh offensive against Shia rebels in the northern Sa'ada province. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by the fighting. The conflict took on an international dimension on 4 November 2009 as clashes broke out between the northern rebels and Saudi security forces along the two countries' common border and Saudis launched an anti-Houthi offensive. The rebels accuse Saudi Arabia of supporting the Yemeni government in attacks against them. The Saudi government denied this. Houthi leaders claim that U.S. involvement in war started on 14 December when the U.S. launched 28 air raids. During Yemen's 1994 civil war, the Wahhabis, an Islamic group adhering to a strict version of Sunni Islam found in neighboring Saudi Arabia, helped the government in its fight against the secessionist south. Zaydis complain the government has subsequently allowed the Wahabis too strong a voice in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, for its part, worries that strife instigated by the Shia sect so close to Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia could stir up groups in Saudia itself. On May 21, the government released estimates of the impact of the rebellion, announcing that it was responsible for 552 deaths, 2,708 injures, and over USD 270 million in economic damages. U.S. President Barack Obama claimed he had authorised the strikes against al-Qaeda. On 20 December, Saudi air strike killed some civilians. According to a spokesman for the Houthis, a Saudi attack killed 54 people in the town of Al Nadheer in the northern province of Sa'dah. The fighting between Yemeni and Saudi forces and Houthis killed at least 119 Yemeni government forces, 263 Houthis, 277 civilians and 7 foreign civilians. Saudi casualties were confirmed at 82 at the time. With more soldiers killed in subsequent clashes and missing soldiers being found dead, however, the casualties rose to 133 killed by January 23, 2010. The number of missing was put at six. In early January 2010, the Houthis chose Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to mediate in their political standoff with the Yemeni government and to find a solution to the conflict. This choice was criticized by Saudi cleric Mohammad al-Arifi, a preacher at Riyadh's central mosque, who dismissed al-Sistani as "an infidel and debauched." The remarks by the Saudi cleric were considered extremely insulting by Shi'as around the world, causing major outrage in some Shi'a populated countries like Iraq, Iran and Lebanon. On December 2009, According to The New York Times, the United States has provided weapons and logistical support to Yemeni government strikes against suspected hide-outs of so-called Al Qaeda within its borders. The officials said that the American support was approved by President Obama and came at the request of the Yemeni government. Houthis claimed in a statement that the U.S. has used modern fighter jets and bombers in its offensive against the Yemen fighters. Houthi leaders however claim that US involvement started on 14 December when the US launched 28 air raids. At least 120 people were killed and 44 injured by the alleged US air raids on the regions of Amran, Hajjah and Sa'ada in North Yemen, a Houthi leader was quoted as saying: "The US air force perpetrated an appalling massacre against citizens in the north of Yemen as it launched air raids on various populated areas, markets, refugee camps and villages along with Saudi warplanes, The savage crime committed by the US air force shows the real face of the United States. It cancels out much touted American claims of human rights protection, promotion of freedoms of citizens as well as democracy.

• published: 19 Sep 2012
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