Yemen's al-Houtis, led by Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, have been engaged in fighting with government forces on and off since 2004.

The government, which accuses the fighters of seeking to reinstate imamate rule ended in a 1962 coup, launched an offensive on north of the country three weeks ago.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of aiding the army in the offensive against Zaidis.

Here follows the comments made by Yemeni MP, Yahya al-Houthi, during an interview with Press TV.

"Saudi Arabia wants the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh to remain in power because he is meeting all the Saudi demands especially those related to terrorism. Yemen is now a main party in carrying out terrorist plots sponsored by Saudi Arabia, therefore it is important for Saudi Arabia to keep Ali Abdullah Saleh in power as the overthrow of his regime would lead to many big secrets being revealed. The regime in Saudi Arabia also supports the Wahhabi ideology and is trying to spread this ideology amongst our people in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is also suffering from internal problems which it wants to export to Yemen. Many members of al-Qaeda , Yemenis and non Yemenis, are now in Yemen. In recent months Ali Abdullah Saleh has taken many recruits of Al-Qaeda who were afraid of falling into the hands of their regimes in countries like Egypt, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. His plan was to use these fighters from al-Qaeda to battle the Houthis in Saada. A training camp was also erected for these terrorists which still exists today in the area of Waila. These members of al-Qaeda and also Baathist elements are now taking part in the fighting alongside the Yemeni army against the Houthis. The areas of Malahit and Hasana which the Houthis have taken control over were used to transfer weapons from Saudi Arabia to the terrorists. These areas are also where most of the terrorists' plans are made.

"The Houthi fighters have seized a large portion of a military base for the Yemeni army in mount Samman near Saada. Our fighters have also seized an army base in the area of Haris. We have also dealt the army a severe blow in the Hamma district and fighting still continues in southern soufeyan which contradicts the Yemeni regime's allegations that it had taken control of this area last week. None of our fighters has been killed during this military campaign and we have the upper hand in the fighting. All the casualties are innocent civilians including women and children. Our brothers even found poisonous chemical substances in yellow and white color in the bombs which were used by the army in the bombardment of civilian areas. This targeting of civilians is a plot aimed at pressuring the Houthis to abandon resistance and also aimed at turning popular opinion against the Houthis but so far this plot has failed.