Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation for Military Affairs, has confirmed that the Kingdom has given a 48-hour ultimatum to the infiltrators for the handing over of Saudi prisoners of war whom they are holding. He made it clear that the Kingdom does not speak to the infiltrators except through the Yemeni government. Prince Khaled made the statement during his launching of the armed forces exhibition for materials and spare parts 2010 in Riyadh Saturday. Prince Khaled told Okaz that the Saudi armed forces will not leave the border area until they are certain that it is free of infiltrators as per the directives of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. He said, “Our demands are simple: First, no infiltrator should remain on the Kingdom's territory.” He added, “By Allah's grace this is what we have achieved not because of their will but due to our strength and resolve to protect all Saudi land. Second, the Yemeni army must remain on the Saudi-Yemeni border to ensure the non-infiltration or entry of any group. We do not mean a certain tribe, but we mean that we will not allow any infiltrator to step over the Kingdom's border.” Regarding cooperation between the military and the private sector, Prince Khaled stressed that this will contribute to opening several fields for the employment of Saudi youth. He added, regarding “the so-called unemployment in the Kingdom, I don't call it unemployment, but rather the improper guidance of Saudis to the areas the state needs”. ‘Working to return Saudis' Meanwhile, in Sana'a a spokesman for Yemen's northern rebels, Mohammad Abdel Salam, says the militants are working to return Saudi prisoners. “Steps are being taken to hand over Saudi prisoners to a mediator,” he said. Under the ceasefire agreement, the Houthis have agreed to disarm, release captured soldiers and property, withdraw from strategic positions, abide by the constitution and vow not to attack Saudi Arabia. He said that they have withdrawn from an occupied airport and begun tearing down roadblocks, fulfilling the conditions of a ceasefire agreement with the government. Yemeni rebels also denied an assassination attempt on an Interior Ministry official which took place Friday, only hours after a ceasefire agreement, Al Jazeera television reported Saturday. Interior Minister Undersecretary Mohammed Al-Qawsi, whose car was shot at Friday in the northern city of Saada, said shortly after the attack that minor violations had occurred because not everyone was aware of the ceasefire, but that the deal still held. A soldier was also killed by rebels on Friday. No further details of the assassination denial were given by the television station Saturday.
