Yemeni Forces Loyal to President Fight off Rebels
by VOA News March 23, 2015
Soldiers loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fought off dozens of Shi'ite Houthi rebels who had been sent toward the southern city of Aden, militia and security sources said Monday.
Security officials said the rebels had sent several thousand troops south and fought around dawn Monday with local Sunni tribes as they approached Aden, where Hadi has taken refuge after fleeing the capital, Sana'a, last month.
Also Monday, Yemen's newly Foreign Minister Riyadh Yasin called on the Gulf Cooperation Council to send troops to Yemen to curb the expansion of the Houthi militia. Yasin said the time has come for action because the Houthis refuse to stop their advance and they do not want to enter into dialogue.
Speaking from Aden, Yasin asked Gulf countries to intervene immediately before Iran-backed Houthis take over more territory.
Iranian-allied Houthis, who had agreed to share power with Hadi after they seized the capital in September, took over the southern city of Taiz on Sunday. Taiz is about 180 kilometers (110 miles) northwest of Aden.
Protect against 'aggression'
Also Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Arab countries will take necessary measures to protect the region against "aggression" by Yemen's Houthi rebels if a peaceful solution cannot be found to that country's turmoil.
Asked if Riyadh might offer military aid to Hadi, whom it recognizes as Yemen's legitimate ruler, Faisal said: "Certainly, countries in the region and the Arab world will take the necessary measures to protect the region from aggression."
Faisal insisted the only solution in Yemen was for the country's "legitimate government to be allowed to exercise its authority and for Houthi rebels to evacuate all government institutions they have occupied."
A tribal fighter battling the Houthi forces trying to punch through to Aden insisted he and his men would sooner die than allow the Houthis to enter the south of the country.
The fighter said the Houthis have incurred losses, as has his own forces, but he does not consider this to be a loss, because his men are defending their land, their country, the legal government and nationalistic principles.
Britain evacuates forces
The growing unrest in the country also prompted Britain to evacuate its last special forces from Yemen, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters Monday.
The person, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the extraction of special forces had occurred in recent days. The Ministry of Defense said it never comments on such matters.
Britain withdrew staff from its embassy in Yemen last month.
On Saturday, U.S. officials announced that all remaining U.S. personnel had been evacuated from Yemen, a day after two suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State group killed 137 people in two mosques in Sana'a.
A U.S. State Department statement said the temporary relocation was due to "the deteriorating security situation in Yemen."
However, the White House said Monday the U.S. still has the capability to handle security issues regarding Yemen despite the withdrawal of remaining American forces.
"The Unites States continues to have assets and resources in the region that will allow us to take steps where necessary to continue to apply significant pressure to extremists' targets," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.
UN Security Council
Deteriorating conditions in the country prompted the U.N. Security Council to call an emergency session Sunday.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power urged all of the rival parties in Yemen to return to U.N.-mediated peace talks.
Power, in a statement issued following the meeting, said the Houthis' actions 'have consistently undermined Yemen's transition,' and that the council reaffirmed its support for Hadi.
The U.N.'s special envoy for Yemen, Jamal Benomar, warned the council that events were pushing the country 'to the edge of civil war.''
Clashes
Later Monday, it was not immediately clear how many Houthis or tribesmen may have been killed or wounded in the clashes near Al-Abd, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Taiz, and Al-Maqatara, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the city.
The Houthis also sent about 5,000 militiamen and more than 80 tanks to an area of neighboring Ibb province that is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of Taiz, local and military sources told the French news agency AFP.
The Houthi militias, who are opposed to Hadi, took control of the military airport in Taiz without a struggle from local authorities late Saturday. They patrolled parts of Taiz Sunday, with Houthi gunmen firing shots into the air to disperse protestors demonstrating against them.
Hours after the takeover, the rebel leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi vowed to send his fighters to the south, where Hadi has taken refuge. In a televised speech, he called Hadi a puppet to international and regional powers who want to 'import the Libyan model' to Yemen.
He named the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as conspirators against Yemen and other countries in the region.
Yemeni security officials say the rebels are backed by supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemen has sunk into violence and chaos since a popular uprising ousted Saleh, the longtime strongman, in 2012.
VOA Yemen stringer Jafar Kukay contributed to this report from Sana'a. Edward Yeranian contributed to this report from Cairo. Some material for this report came from Reuters and AFP.
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