Hyderabad, July 29 -- A trove of leaked Saudi Arabian government cables has revealed how Riyadh secretly tried to manufacture a sectarian split in northern Yemen more than a decade ago to weaken the Houthi movement, a plan personally directed by King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The documents, obtained by Drop Site News, are the work of a shadowy body called the Special Committee of the Council of Ministers, which has quietly run Saudi Arabia's Yemen policy since 1962.

The committee reports directly to the Saudi Prime Minister's office, keeps files on Yemen's tribal chiefs, clerics, commanders and politicians, and has long paid monthly stipends to keep powerful Yemenis loyal to Riyadh. Its name appears in no official record in either country....