RIYADH, Jan 26, (Agencies): Saudi Arabia is considering a truce offer by Yemeni Shi’ite rebels to end fighting with the kingdom’s forces in the Yemen-Saudi border area, and plans to take a decision later on Tuesday, a Saudi defence ministry spokesman said.
The leader of Yemen’s Shi’ite rebels offered on Monday a ceasefire to Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, and said his fighters would withdraw from the kingdom’s territory to avoid more civilian casualties.
“The truce offer is being examined and we will make an official decision later today,” Saudi defence ministry spokesman General Ibrahim al-Malek said.
The offer by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi followed three months of border fighting between Shi’ite rebels and Saudi forces which have used aircraft to bomb rebel targets.
“To avoid more bloodshed and to stop aggression on civilians ... we offer this initiative,” Houthi said in an audio recording posted on the Internet.

Houthi warned that if Saudi Arabia did not end its hostilities in return, the rebels would wage an “open war” on the kingdom.
Yemeni Shi’ite rebels said on Tuesday they had withdrawn completely from Saudi territory as part of a truce offer extended to the world’s top oil exporter.
“There has been a complete withdrawal from all Saudi positions and territory,” the rebels said in a statement posted to their website.
The statement added that Saudi air strikes had killed five people and wounded two on Monday evening. It did not say if the strikes occurred before or after the truce offer by Shi’ite rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, which followed three months of border fighting between Shi’ite rebels and Saudi forces.
“The truce offer is being examined and we will make an official decision later today,” Saudi defence ministry spokesman General Ibrahim al-Malek said.

Yemen needs logistical support to help fight al-Qaeda but will not allow foreign covert operations against the global militant group on its territory, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told the BBC.
Qirbi ruled out allowing a US military base on Yemeni soil or covert foreign operations in the country.
“We will undertake it ourselves. Why do we need outside soldiers to fight when we can do the fight ourselves?” said Qirbi in the interview broadcast on Tuesday.
He said the government had mistakenly allowed foreign intervention in 2002, when a US missile strike killed an al-Qaeda leader suspected of planning the 2000 suicide bombing of the US warship Cole.
“It proved to be a terrible mistake, and this is why we don’t want to repeat it. We have to do it ourselves and anybody who is interested will have to support us,” Qirbi said.
Meanwhile, a Yemeni court sentenced on Tuesday seven suspected al-Qaeda members to between five and 10 years in jail after convicting them of plotting to attack foreign interests and tourists.
The seven went on trial in October after having been arrested while preparing explosives and monitoring tourist buses to attack them, according to police.

They were convicted of “plotting to form an armed gang to execute criminal acts targeting foreign tourists and interests and government installments,” according to the verdict.
Three of them, Hussein al-Marwalah, Mohammed al-Ghawly, and Hani al-Aleeni, were sentenced to 10 years in prison, while three others, Yossuf al-Hajjaji, Abdullah al-Matari, and Amin al-Najjar, were jailed seven years.
The seventh, Muteab al-Qadi, was sentenced to five years in prison.
The men, all bearded, seemed relaxed during the hearing, chanting religious slogans and words of praise for al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, an AFP journalist said.
When the verdict was pronounced, they chanted in unison “God is greater” and shouted that they rejected the court’s legitimacy.
“We want bin Laden to rule by Allah’s law... Shame on you people that our hands are chained... We betray bin Laden as we have betrayed Palestine in the past,” they chanted.