Saudis and Yemenis to talk

Saudi Arabia and Yemen yesterday agreed to reduce tension on their disputed borders following armed clashes over recent months. In a joint statement they pledged to freeze military activities and renew bilateral talks after intensive mediation by Syria.

Yemen's President, Ali Abdallah Saleh, told reporters his country had a "real and serious desire to settle peacefully and through dialogue its border problems with Saudi Arabia". A high-level Yemeni delegation was waiting yesterday to fly to Riyadh for talks, said Yemeni sources.

The tension rose dramatically on Saturday when Saudi Arabia moved advanced US-made warplanes, rocket launchers and armour to its border with Yemen. The latest Saudi build-up was the culmination of months of clashes that claimed lives on both sides.

Violence flared last Tuesday, when Saudi-backed armed Yemeni tribesmen hostile to theYemeni government hoisted the Saudi flag in Sanaa province, in north-western Yemen.

Yemeni forces ripped down the Saudi flag but the tribesmen remained camped in the area, according to Western diplomats in the Yemeni capital.

The conflict between the two countries goes back a long way.The past 60 years have seen wars and border raids that involved Colonel Nasser of Egypt, covert British units, mercenaries and the use of poison gas.