Yemeni president capitulates to the demands of Houthi rebels

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Yemeni president capitulates to the demands of Houthi rebels

Hakim Almasmari in Sana'a, and Martin Chulov in Beirut
The Guardian, Wednesday 21 January 2015 22.55 GMT

Yemen’s president Abed Mansour Hadi has yielded to the demands of Houthi gunmen who over ran the capital Sana’a, agreeing to a power-sharing role that will dilute his powers and give the rebels a strident voice in state affairs.

After being ousted from his palace, then besieged in his home for 24 hours, Hadi agreed to all the Houthis’ demands, state media reported. In return, the rebels will withdraw from all government facilities they seized, including military bases and tv stations. They will also free Hadi’s aide who was captured over the weekend.

The deal amounts to a capitulation for the embattled leader, who will no longer have full authority to assign the entire government, or to make executive decisions without the input of the Houthis.

A senior Houthi official welcomed the compromise but warned that deadlines had been breached when previous deals had been struck over the past three months. “This deal specifies a two week grace period to implement the core of what was agreed upon and we will be watching up close to see whether the government is serious or not this time,” a member of the Houthi political council told the Guardian.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/21/yemen-president-abed-mansour-hadi-yields-houthi-rebels

[Fred Sanders]

1. It was going to hell in a hooka pipe according to the American media a few days ago.....did the media overreact?

Just to spread fear without evidence? Why would they do that?

[bemildred]

2. We are not in control. That always freaks them out. nt

[bemildred]

3. Some counter-terrorism efforts in Yemen frozen for now: US officials

WASHINGTON: The United States has halted some counter-terrorism operations against al Qaeda militants in Yemen following a takeover of the country by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, US officials said on Friday.

The collapse of the US-backed government of Yemen on Thursday has left America’s counter-terrorism campaign “paralyzed”, two US security officials said, dealing a major setback to Washington’s fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a potent wing of the militant network.

Three US officials said the halt in operations included drone strikes, at least temporarily, following the abrupt resignation of the president, prime minister and cabinet amid mounting fears the Arab world’s poorest country was veering toward civil war.

The US move underscores another setback for President Barack Obama’s Middle East policy and raises doubts about a counter-terrorism strategy that has relied on drone warfare and often shaky foreign partners to avoid sending large US ground forces to battle militant threats far from American shores.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/foreign/25-Jan-2015/some-counter-terrorism-efforts-in-yemen-frozen-for-now-us-officials

[bemildred]

4. Yemen risks disintegration as south rejects Shi'ite group's takeover

SANAA (Reuters) - No sooner had Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi announced his resignation than his country's tenuous political fabric began to disintegrate.

Provinces across a nation barely held together by a complex web of tribal and religious alliances said they would no longer take military commands from Sanaa after the Iranian-allied Shi'ite Houthi group besieged Hadi's home and palace this week.

The emerging fragmentation of the Arabian Peninsula country has sparked fears of the "Somalization" of a state which is home to a revitalized al Qaeda insurgency as well as a neighbor to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

For Washington, Yemen's splintering would make it hard to carry out a counter-terrorism strategy against al Qaeda plotters who have targeted it and its ally Saudi Arabia and claimed responsibility for the Jan. 7 Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.

http://ca.reuters.com/article/idCAKBN0KY0BR20150125?rpc=401

[bemildred]

5. Houthis besiege Yemeni Air Force HQ in Sanaa

SANAA

Militants from the Shiite Houthi movement on Sunday besieged the Yemeni Air Force headquarters in capital Sanaa and barred its commander Rashid al-Jund from entering the premises, a military source has said.

The source, speaking to The Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity, did not give a reason for the move, and Houthis have yet to issue a comment on the source's assertions.

But over the past few days Houthi militants seized control of several government and military sites in Sanaa amid an apparent push by the Shiite militants to consolidate their control over the country.

On Thursday, President Abd Rabbul Mansour Hadi tendered his resignation to parliament shortly after Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and his government quit to protest the Shiite militants' takeover of the sites, which included the presidential palace.

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/455633--houthis-besiege-yemeni-air-force-hq-in-sanaa

[bemildred]

6. Yemeni president decides to withdraw resignation: advisor

SANAA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has decided to withdraw his resignation to continue to serve the country, a president advisor told Xinhua on Sunday.

A presidential advisor, requesting anonymity, told Xinhua that Hadi made his decision to withdraw the resignation based on the international efforts led by United Nations envoy Jamal Bin Omar, as well as representatives of the political parties in the country.

Hadi has six advisors who are among the country's decision-making body, including one from the Shiite Houthi group.

However, a government spokesman told Xinhua that there is no official announcement about Hadi's decision.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2015-01/25/c_133945433.htm

[bemildred]

7. Obama defends U.S. counterterrorism strategy in Yemen

Jan 25 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama defended his administration's drone-based counterterrorism strategy against al Qaeda militants in Yemen, saying the alternative would be to deploy U.S. troops, which he said was not sustainable.

"It is not neat and it is not simple, but it is the best option that we have," Obama told reporters at a news conference.

The United States has not suspended its counterterrorism operations in Yemen after Iran-backed Houthi rebels took over last week, Obama said. (Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel and Roberta Rampton)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/01/25/yemen-security-obama-idIND8N0PK00O20150125?rpc=401

[bemildred]

8. Lawmakers push to keep detainees in Gitmo after Yemen's collapse

Do you ever wonder why they are so anxious to keep Gitmo open and the prisoners inside it?

The collapse of Yemen's Western-backed government has raised new concerns in Congress about President's Obama plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The majority of the remaining detainees at the prison are from Yemen, alarming lawmakers who fear they will return to the battlefield to wage attacks against the United States if they are transferred out.

"The country from which the greatest number of people at Guantanamo originate is Yemen, and they want to empty the place out," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said Thursday.

Congress has in previous years restricted the return of detainees back to Yemen out of concern that the country’s government would not be able to monitor their activities.

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/230618-lawmakers-push-gitmo-restrictions-after-yemens-collapse