Free Republic

Iran’s government has embarked on an armed strategy of divide, crush and conquer to end nationwide protests against clerical rule in the Islamic Republic. The primary target is the Kurdish minority population, which has been protesting for more than two months. The government, dominated by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has dispatched an aggressive and ill-disciplined militia known as the Basij to assault Kurdish towns and villages in western Iran. For the past eight days, thousands of Basij, transported by armored vehicles and firing heavy automatic weapons, have moved into the western border zone largely populated by Kurds. The Kurds have...

the seizures came after clashes broke out Thursday night in the eastern city of Marib between tribesmen and army troops. They say the tribesmen suspected that the soldiers were heading to join the Shiite rebels who have been gathering outside of Marib for several weeks ... The Shiite rebels known as the Houthis are backed by ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They have overrun the capital and other cities in a power grab that has plunged Yemen into turmoil. ... Sunni al-Qaida has recently intensified its attacks against the expansionist Shiite Houthis, especially in Yemen's predominantly Sunni central region.