Operation Burned Earth (Arabic: عملية الأرض المحروقة) is the code name of an ongoing Yemeni military offensive in the governorate of Sa'dah, in northern Yemen, which began in August 2009. It is part of the fifth wave of violence of the Zaidi insurrection against the Government, and used the tactic of scorched earth. In November 2009, the fight spread across the border with neighboring Saudi Arabia. Saudi troops rejected the rebels who infiltrated, and continued to pursue them within the territory of Yemen. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on November 7 that the real war "started only two days ago" and that his army had simply been "training" during the previous ninety days of conflict.
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