Yemen says 24 rebels killed in Saada clashes

SANAA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni security forces killed 24 Shiite rebels in clashes on Sunday in the northern province of Saada, one day after the rebel leader said they are ready to accept the government's conditions for a ceasefire after it stops fighting against them.

According to the military-run 26sep.net website, Yemeni forces exchanged fire with the rebels, known as the Houthis, in separate parts in the province.

Qaed Abu-Mali, a rebel leader who is in charge of training, was killed along with 20 other Houthis in al-Safia area in Saada, the report said.

The troops also killed three rebels when they tried to sneak into farms near Al Aqab area, also in the northern province.

On Saturday, leader of Yemeni rebels Abdel Malik al-Houthi renewed an offer to accept the government conditions after Sanaa stops its military operation against their posts.

"We reiterate our acceptance of the five conditions (set by the government) after the aggression stops," Abdel Malik al-Houthi said in an audio record posted on the Internet.

The Yemeni government insisted that the army offensive against the rebels' hideouts should never stop until the rebels commit to five conditions.

The five conditions include full withdrawal of rebel forces from all districts they occupied and removal of all road blocks, coming down from their hideouts at the mountains, returning of all military and public equipment seized during battles, releasing of detained military personnel and kidnapped civilians and abiding by the Yemeni constitution and law.

Later, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh added a new condition, calling on the rebels to stop infiltrating into neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The Yemeni army launched an all-out offensive dubbed "Operation Scorched Earth" on Aug. 11 against Houthi rebels, which is the sixth of its kind since 2004.