Yemen Leader, Rebels Reportedly End Stalemate
by VOA News January 21, 2015
Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Wednesday said he has reached an agreement with Houthi rebels who've besieged his residence, offering to scrap a proposed constitutional change that they opposed.
The Shi'ite Muslim rebels, in turn, have agreed to withdraw from their positions and release a top official, kidnapped Saturday. They had replaced the guards outside the presidential palace Wednesday, further pressing their control of the capital, Sana'a.
A presidential statement also offered a broader vision of unity for deeply fractured Yemen. It noted that Houthis and members of the southern separatist Hirak movement have a right to be appointed to all state institutions.
The concessions came after three days of violence in Sana'a. They appeared to ease a standoff that raised alarms across the Gulf region to the United Nations and Washington, which relies on the current Yemeni government in its battle against Yemen-based al-Qaida militants.
Before the agreement was announced, anti-Houthi protesters had held rallies in Taiz. And authorities in the southern city of Aden closed the airport there Wednesday, saying the move was to protest Houthi attacks on Hadi's power and the country's sovereignty.
Palace seizure, detention denounced
Meanwhile, Gulf Arab foreign ministers Wednesday condemned what they called a 'coup d'etat.'
Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), who support Hadi and oppose Iranian influence in the region, denounced what they called terrorist acts by the Houthis and their allies. They demanded that state bodies be returned to government control and that Hadi's chief of staff, detained by the Houthis last week, be released.
The council – comprised of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain – also expressed support for the 'constitutionally legitimate authority' of Hadi, and rejected 'all measures aimed at imposing change by force.'
'Take all measures necessary'
The ministers, who met in an emergency session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, warned that Gulf states 'would take all measures necessary to protect their security, stability and vital interests in Yemen.'
Rebel leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said in a televised speech late Tuesday that his faction wanted an end to what he called 'corruption and totalitarianism' in Yemen. He stopped short of calling for the government's ouster.
Abdel-Malek's speech left little doubt, however, that his movement was now in effective control of the country.
Arab media earlier had reported the Houthis are demanding 50 percent of key ministerial positions as part of an earlier power-sharing agreement. Al Jazeera TV said the Houthis also insist 1,000 of their fighters be incorporated in the army and 1,000 more in the police.
Moroccan diplomat Jamal Benomar, special U.N. envoy for Yemen, was expected in Sana'a on Wednesday.
The United Nations Security Council and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have called for a cease-fire and the restoration of the government's full authority.
Houthi seek greater rights
Houthi forces, calling for greater rights for Yemen's Shi'ite minority, overran Sana'a in September.
On Saturday, the Houthis kidnapped Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the president's chief of staff, as the government was trying to draft a new constitution.
Yemen has been wracked by internal divisions. The Houthi movement has spread beyond its traditional rebellion in the north as separatists continue to press their cause in the south.
Meanwhile, the Yemen-based group Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has claimed attacks both at home and abroad, most recently on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this month.
The U.S. has strongly condemned the violence in Yemen. A senior administration official said that President Barack Obama is being updated by his national security team, and that Washington will continue to support efforts to bring about a peaceful solution.
The U.S. relies heavily on the Hadi government in its fight against AQAP. A key component of that relationship has been its willingness to allow U.S. drone strikes against AQAP targets.
The Shi'ite Houthi movement fiercely opposes the militant Sunni AQAP. But it also objects to U.S. interference in Yemen.
Edward Yeranian contributed to this report from Cairo. Some material for this report came from Reuters and AFP.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
