On Sept. 16, 85 Shiite refugees, including women and children, were killed in an air raid launched by the Yemeni government. The raid came after a recent escalation of violence between the government and a Shiite rebel clan called the Hawthis. The U.N. condemned the air raid the following day. In response, the Yemeni government offered a conditional ceasefire to the rebels. The offer came at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and was expected to last for the three-day holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

On Sept. 19, violence continued, with each side holding the other responsible for breaking the ceasefire.

The violence, which has flared intermittently since June 2004, has been fueled by an economic subterfuge, sectional Islamic differences, and growing al-Qaeda presence in the region. Shiite clans accused the government of allying with fundamentalist Sunnis, a group radically opposed to the Hawthis.

Speaking on sectional disputes that lead to situations like the one in Yemen, sophomore Madiha Bhatti said, “They’re all speaking different dialects of the same language . when you’ve truly mastered your own language, you have enough confidence not to challenge the validity of every other. Al-Qaeda has the corner market on insecurity.”

Fighting has displaced tens of thousands of Yemenis, who take refuge in makeshift camps such as the one bombed in the air raid.

Several Muslim leaders have asked the Yemeni government to stop the fighting. Lebanese Shiite leader Ali Salem al-Beidh petitioned the government to “open the doors to a new political solution,” as reported in The Washington Post.

Yemeni violence has caused concern because of Yemen’s proximity to Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich countries. Al-Qaeda has recently increased its presence in the region, raising fears that the organization may have an interest in Saudi oil fields. Yemen also overlooks the Gulf of Aden, an important sea route providing access to Somalia, where al-Qaeda is already active. Somali pirates routinely raid Yemen’s coastline.

Al-Qaeda, a fundamentalist Sunni group of the type feared by Shiite rebels, is using Yemen as a base for an intensive fund-raising scheme that targets Saudi individuals, to support violence against the government of Sanaa, Al Arabiya.

Two suicide car bombings outside the U.S. embassy in Sanaa killed 16 people a year ago, according to The Washington Post. Earlier this month, four Yemenis carrying hand grenades and automatic weapons were arrested near the embassy.

Saudi officials have voiced concern at the violence since a Yemen-based al-Qaeda member attempted to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s assistant interior minister in late August.

To fight the civil war, Yemeni militia has been called off the U.S.-led war on terror to suppress rebels. Americans fear that the government cannot handle internal violence and fight a war on terrorism. Instability in the region would give al-Qaeda an even stronger foothold.

Yemen has been a historically sensitive region. Before the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden succeeded in exploding a U.S. guided-missile destroyer in the port of Aden, Yemen. The destroyer, U.S.S. Cole, was believed to be the Titanic of the navy – virtually indestructible.

Bin Laden utilized a tiny explosive-laden fishing boat for the task. As reported in The New Yorker, bin Laden said, “the destroyer represented the West, the small boat represented Muhammad.”

Saudi Arabia recently asked Interpol’s help in hunting down terrorists on its most wanted list. Some of these returned to Saudi Arabia after being released from Guantanamo Bay and then fled to Yemen to resume terrorist activities.

Yemen’s economy has taken a severe hit in recent years. Oil production, accounting for 70 percent of the nation’s economy, has dropped by 40 percent. The country is also troubled by a high population growth rate and a low literacy rate. Yemeni officials hesitate to crack down on Somalian pirates, al-Qaeda activity, or Hawthi violence, fearing that severe actions could worsen the economy.

Concerned about the humanitarian crisis in the region, Bhatti said that the Yemen government and rebels alike have “forgotten the God on whose behalf they are fighting.