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Middle East
Yemenis face death over attacks
Seven men sentenced to be executed over a series of shootouts with security forces.
Last Modified: 06 Jul 2009 18:12 GMT
A total of 190 suspects are being tried in batches over the fighting north of the capital last year [AFP]

Seven people have been sentenced to death by a Yemeni court for their role in a series of shootouts with security forces that left at least 18 people dead.

The court in the capital, Sanaa, on Monday convicted the men of "belonging to an armed gang in 2008 to carry out a collective criminal project".

Seven other defendants were sentenced to jail terms of between 12 and 15 years.

The defendants shouted "death to America and death to Israel" from the dock after the sentences were announced.

Deadly fighting

A total of 190 suspects are being tried in batches over the deadly fighting that raged in Bani Hoshaish, northeast of Sanaa, between March and June last year.

Officials said that the men were followers of Hussein Badr Eddin al-Huthi, who was killed by the army in September in 2004.

The group - which is now led by al-Huthi's brother, Abdul Malak - is based in the northern Saada region and wants to restore the Zaidi imamate that was overthrown in a coup in 1962.

An offshoot of Shia Islam, Zaidis are a minority in mainly Sunni Yemen but form the majority in the north.

Source:
Agencies
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