News from the southern fronts

As Saudi-led airstrikes continue in several parts of Yemen, the southern city of Aden is still being contested by local resistance fighters and pro-Houthi/pro-Saleh forces. Earlier this week, Houthi/Saleh units fought their way through al-Mansurah and other northern districts of Aden, and continued fighting with local forces in Khor Maksar. On Friday, the invading units shelled neighborhoods in Sirah District, also known as Crater, Aden's historic commercial core. Reporting by Al Jazeera from Friday shows local resistance fighters receiving crates of weapons and other supplies, which were air-dropped by Saudi planes. For the moment, local forces seem to have stopped the Houthi/Saleh advance outside of Sirah. Saudi-led aircraft bombed several parts of Aden this week, aiming to disrupt the invading forces' supply lines and take out armored vehicles belonging to the Houthi/Saleh forces. However, Houthi/Saleh forces are still in control of all land routes into the city, leaving the civilian population cut off from food and fuel.

According to Adeni officials, almost 200 people have been killed in this week's fighting in the city, and over 1,000 injured. Three quarters of these reported casualties are thought to be civilians.

In an emergency session of the UN Security Council today, Russia put forth a proposal for a humanitarian ceasefire. The Red Cross has called for an immediate halt to fighting to allow its workers and other NGOs to bring in badly-needed medical personnel and supplies.

"Otherwise, put starkly, many more people will die. For the wounded, their chances of survival depend on action within hours, not days," Robert Mardini, the ICRC's head of operations in the Near and Middle East, said Saturday.

Two Red Crescent volunteers working to rescue wounded civilians in Aden were shot dead on Friday in Sirah.

Also on Friday, AQAP fighters seized government buildings and banks in al-Mukalla, the capital of Hadhramawt Governorate. In response, forces from the Hadhramawt Tribal Confederacy have taken control of military bases in other parts of Hadhramawt, and are said to be advancing on al-Mukalla to force AQAP out.

Important readings on the current conflict

Coverage of the war in Yemen has, as always, been spotty. Here are some of the more important pieces on the current situation: Yemen specialist Adam Baron spoke to NPR's Morning Edition today about why foreign observers shouldn't view Yemen's conflict as primarily sectarian, and the many dangers of escalating and regionalizing the conflict.

Adam Baron is also featured on this excellent ECFR panel discussion of the Yemeni conflict, along with Nawal al-Maghafi and Mina al-Oraibi. Nawal's account of sneaking into Sa‘dah in 2010 to report on the Houthi movement is particularly gripping.

On Monday, Morning Edition featured a segment on Saudi-led airstrikes, with guests Hisham al-Omeisy and Hussain al-Bukhaiti.

Abubakr al-Shamahi of Al-Araby has a rather useful video explaining the Yemeni conflict in four minutes.

Medicins Sans Frontieres reports that it's dealing with hundreds of victims of fighting in Aden, Lahj, and al-Dhali‘, as well as casualties from airstrikes in northern Yemen. MSF says it cannot bring in desperately-needed supplies and personnel because the Saudi-led coalition is blocking humanitarian shipments from Yemen's air and seaports.

ICRC has also complained about the blockade on relief supplies.

UNICEF reports that at least 62 children have been killed in recent fighting. More than two dozen civilians were killed when coalition forces bombed an IDP camp in Sa‘dah on Monday. On Tuesday, coalition strikes destroyed a dairy factory in al-Hudaydah, killing at least 37 civilians. Fighting continued Tuesday in the northern parts of the city of Aden.

March 24-31: Decisive Storm continues, as does Houthi expansion

The Saudi-led aerial bombing campaign, labeled Operation Decisive Storm, has divided the local media since it was launched last week. Besides, fresh news websites have emerged while some of those which had previously suspended operations have resurfaced. The campaign, ostensibly intended to halting the Houthi movement’s expansion across the country, started two days after UN envoy Jamal Benomar cancelled the political talks between the Houthis and their opponents, which had only just resumed in the capital, Sanʻa.

While such a campaign seems to have ended any possibility of political negations, the Saudi King called on the Houthis to participate in talks proposed to be held in Riyadh – a proposal that was rejected by the Houthis along with four other political parties earlier last month.

President Hadi’s newly appointed Foreign Minister, Riyadh Yasin (who, like Hadi, is currently in Saudi Arabia), said that the political process is dependent on the Saudi-led campaign.

In the days since the campaign was launched, Ansar Allah has not yet responded militarily toward Saudi Arabia as local observers expected. However, the group's leader gave a speech threatening Saudi Arabia with strong response if it continues the airstrikes.

Meanwhile, pro-Houthi and pro-Saleh forces advanced on southern areas in Aden, Abyan and Shabwah. Fierce clashes ensued and hundreds were reportedly killed and wounded.

While the airstrikes continue to hit pro-Houthi/Saleh military bases in different parts of Yemen, civilians have been killed and wounded. On the first day of this campaign, when the Sanʻa airport and al-Dailami airbase were bombed, 27 people were reportedly killed including 15 children. All schools in Sanʻa have been closed, while students of Sanʻa University were called in to continue.

Pakistan’s prime minister was quick to join the Saudi-led coalition and pledged to send ground troops, but later backpedaled under pressure from the public and government officials. A high-level Pakistani delegation is currently in Riyadh, and the government has promised not to commit forces to Decisive Storm before the issue is discussed at an all-party conference. Pakistan and other countries, including China, have acted to evacuate their citizens from Yemen, while the Indian premier asked Saudi Arabia to help his country evacuate Indian nationals. Sudan is currently reviewing how to evacuate its nationals, and its president confirmed he may ground troops to Yemen.

Hello Pakistan, Hello India, Hello KSA

If you're visiting our site from a country involved in airstrikes in Yemen, we want to hear from you! Since the beginning of the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen this week, our website has seen a huge increase in visitors from Pakistan, India, and Saudi Arabia. By "huge," I mean that pageviews from Pakistan, which in an average week make up about 3% of our total traffic, now account for 20% of all pageviews. Visitors from India are now about 20% of the total as well, up from an average of 9%. Visitors to our website from Saudi Arabia now account for about 9% of our total traffic, a noticeable increase from their normal 3%. In short, our site's traffic patterns have changed in a big way since a coalition of GCC, Arab League, and other states have decided to intervene in Yemen's civil war*.

The thing about international intervention is that it is rarely a one-way operation. America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, had massive secondary effects on domestic politics here in the US. Similarly, as Saudi Arabia and its allies drop thousands of tons of ordnance on Yemen's cities, the conflict is also heavily impacting some of the countries involved. My suspicion is that the conflict will be felt most strongly by the public in Pakistan, where the military receives much more public support and loyalty than does the federal government.

If you're visiting our site from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or any other country involved in Operation Decisive Storm, we'd love to hear your opinion about this intervention, and your thoughts on how the war in Yemen matters to affairs in your own country. You can email us your comments at info@yemenpeaceproject.org, or share them on our Facebook page. Also, while you're here, please consider making a donation to the YPP so we can continue to provide news and analysis about Yemen to readers and listeners all over the world. Thanks!

*Yes, I know India isn't part of the coalition. But in general, issues that are big in Pakistan become important in India as well, and there's also a sizable Yemeni population there. If you can help explain India's increasing interest, please do!

GCC airstrikes continue across Yemen

Just after nightfall in San‘a, sources in the city are reporting the most intense airstrikes since the Saudi-led joint bombing operation began on Wednesday. The air campaign, which Saudi Arabia has dubbed Operation Decisive Storm (‘asifat al-Hazm), includes forces from all Gulf Cooperation Council states with the exception of Oman, which seems to be positioning itself as a potential mediator. Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco are also contributing forces, while the US and other western states have promised logistical and intelligence support.  According to Yemeni government sources (that is, pro-Houthi officials in the acting government in San‘a), at least 39 Yemeni civilians were killed in the first two nights of air raids. Thursday night's bombings expanded beyond the capital, with coalition warplanes targeting pro-Houthi and pro-Saleh forces in Sa‘dah, Ta‘iz, Aden, and Lahj. Strikes on Friday reportedly have also targeted positions in al-Hudaydah on the Red Sea coast.

Meanwhile, Houthi/Saleh forces have continued their ground campaign for control over southern Yemen, pushing into Abyan and Shabwah Governorates for the first time on Friday. Pro-Saleh forces have reportedly cut off Aden--which the GCC swears is still under the control of the "legitimate government," even though President Hadi fled the city two days ago--from the north, west, and east. GCC-coalition naval and ground forces are waiting off the coast of Aden, but have not entered Yemen yet.

To get a sense of the thinking within the US administration about this latest phase of the conflict, read the transcript of Thursday's State Department press briefing. It seems that the Obama administration may have been caught off-guard by the GCC air campaign, and there does not seem to be total agreement within the US government about the usefulness of GCC actions.

The escalating conflict is already exacerbating Yemen's very serious humanitarian crisis. With roads cut by rival military forces, and power and fuel unavailable, life is only getting harder for the millions of Yemenis facing food insecurity and water shortages.

For propaganda-heavy coverage of the campaign from the Saudi perspective, check out Al Arabiya's English and Arabic websites. Al Jazeera's coverage is more balanced, giving airtime to Yemenis who oppose the airstrikes. Democracy Now interviewed Yemeni analyst and activist Farea al-Muslimi from San'a today, and International Crisis Group released a new briefing paper, which argues that the best option for descalation and peaceful resolution of the crisis would be a monitored ceasefire under the auspices of the UN Security Council, followed by UN-led talks.

Saudi Arabia launches air campaign against Yemen

Last night, over 100 Saudi Arabian Air Force jets bombed Yemen's capital, San'a. The air strikes ostensibly targeted pro-Houthi installations, with the aim of stopping the advance of forces aligned with Ansar Allah and former president 'Ali 'Abdullah Saleh. Earlier in the day, President Hadi--who has been running a government-in-exile from the southern city of Aden--called on the GCC and United Nations to authorize military intervention against his enemies. Meanwhile, available reports indicate that Hadi fled the country yesterday, as pro-Houthi/pro-Saleh forces entered Aden.  US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with GCC leaders this morning, and confirmed that the United States supports the bombing campaign, which at present involves all GCC states with the exception of Oman. Egyptian, Pakistani, and Sudanese forces also appear to be involved.

The Yemen Peace Project strongly condemns US support for military intervention in Yemen. The GCC strikes are not likely to have a positive impact on political negotiations, and are making life for ordinary Yemenis in the capital much harder. According to official sources, at least 25 Yemenis were killed overnight in the bombings. Many San'a residents are reportedly fleeing the capital, or are moving away from Houthi-controlled areas within the city. Fuel and electricity are unavailable in many parts of the city as well.

March 16-23: Pro-Houthi forces take Ta'iz while Hadi's militias hold Aden

Rapidly-developing and troubling events, chiefly at the security and the political levels, have grabbed the headlines of the local press over the last week, which began with the release of government ministers from house arrest, and ended with a series of horrific suicide attacks. Purportedly carried out by ISIS-linked militants, the attacks left hundreds of civilians dead and wounded in the capital, San‘a, and killed 29 soldiers in the southern province of Lahj. Early last week, the Houthi group released Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and his ministers after nearly two months of house arrest. The move was seen as a prelude to Ansar Allah’s forming a new government made up of their own allies.

This came as local reports indicated that President ‘Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi, who established himself in his provisional capital of Aden, held a meeting with several Cabinet members including the former defense minister, Mahmud al-Subayhi. The following day, the Islah Party withdrew from UN-sponsored political talks, hours after Ansar Allah released three Islah members who had been detained for two weeks.

Though the Islah party assigned these three members as delegates in the political talks, the three declined, leaving Islah with its former two delegates, who previously had boycotted the sessions.

As the political talks hit a stumbling block, a prominent Houthi-affiliated prominent journalist and activist, Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, was gunned down in a drive-by shooting.

On the next day, fighting between pro-Hadi “Popular committee” militiamen and Special Security Forces (SSF) troops--tied to former president ‘Ali Saleh and Ansar Allah--intensified in Aden. Aden Airport was forced to halt its flights after the rival forces fought for control of the installation. The fighting came to an end and the SSF commander fled, after pro-Hadi armed forces led by provisional defense minister al-Subayhi stormed the airport and the SSF headquarters nearby. Pro-Houthi and pro-Saleh forces, on the other hand, reportedly entered the third largest city of Taiz, which they captured two days later.

On Friday, militants apparently loyal to the so-called Islamic State (IS), headquartered in Iraq, claimed responsibility for attacking two mosques frequented by Houthi Movement supporters in the capital Sana'a. The suicide bombings at the mosques killed more than 130 civilians including 13 children. Later on the same day, 29 soldiers were reportedly slain by IS-linked militants in Lahj.

Over the weekend, President Hadi made his first televised speech since fleeing house arrest and establishing himself in Aden, in which he promised to retake Houthi-controlled areas and secure Yemen’s “unity.”

In his own speech shortly thereafter, ‘Abd al-Malik al-Houthi called for an all-out mobilization of military and security forces, a move seen as a “declaration of war” by most observers.

Suicide attacks target San'a mosques

On Friday afternoon the al-Badr and al-Hashush mosques in Yemen's capital were hit by coordinated suicide attacks, apparently involving a pair of attackers at each location. By the end of the day, authorities had counted 137 people killed, and more than twice that number wounded in the blasts. The mosques in question appear to have been targeted because of their association with pro-Ansar Allah figures. This article in the New York Times--which features reporting by two excellent Yemeni journalists, Saeed al-Batati and our own contributor Mohammed Ali Kalfood--does a good job of contextualizing the attacks. As with a lot of the coverage of what's going on in Yemen today, however, I take issue with the piece's assumptions about sectarian conflict. In Yemen, and especially in San'a, things are not so simple as "Sunni vs. Shi'i," and I urge readers not to assume that such descriptors accurately reflect the local reality. We'll return to that topic in future posts.

Late on Friday, a group identifying itself as the Islamic State in San'a Province claimed credit for the attack. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula issued a statement denying any connection to the attack.

Funerals were held on Saturday for many of the victims. Our hearts and thoughts are with their families and friends.

March 9-15: More talks about talks, militias clash in Aden

Local news coverage during the last week focused mainly on the appearance of the Defense Minister in the southern city of Aden—President Hadi’s provisional capital—and the tension brewing there between “Popular Committee” militias loyal to Hadi and the Special Security Forces (SSF), apparently loyal to the Houthis. Major General Saqqaf, the SSF Commander in Aden, refused an order issued by Hadi removing him from his command. Sporadic clashes erupted between the two sides over the past week as reinforcements were said to have been sent to this southern port city, the base of the secessionist movement known as Hirak, which calls for southern independence.

Meanwhile, the political parties in the Yemeni capital, Sanʻa, resumed UN-led negotiations after the Islah and Nasserite parties returned to dialogue table. However, both parties later rejected any discussion that challenged the legitimacy of Hadi’s presidency. The Islah party submitted an objection letter to UN envoy Jamal Benomar, and the Nasserite party reiterated that no talks will be held that undermine Hadi’s legitimacy as Yemen’s president.

While Saudi Arabia welcomed the plan to relocate the political talks to Riyadh, the GPC party and the Houthis refused this proposal. The GCC General Secretariat was reported to have said that talks in Riyadh will be different from those being held in Sanʻa. Benomar, who reportedly said that “Yemen is on the verge of a civil war,” declined to describe the would-be talks in Riyadh as an alternative to the ongoing talks in Sanʻa.

In Aden, President Hadi met with the US Ambassador for the second time, as well as other diplomatic envoys including ambassadors from Turkey and UAE. Hadi also met with his defense minister, Mahmoud al-Subaihi, who was reported to have fled house arrest in capital Sanʻa. His appearance in Aden, though, is still cloaked in mystery.

March 3-8: Hadi calls for talks in Riyadh, foreign missions to Aden

Over the last week, political negotiations between Ansar Allah and Yemen’s other political parties once again dominated local headlines. President ‘Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi—having established himself in Aden after escaping from house arrest in Sanʻa—has proposed the Saudi capital of Riyadh as a possible venue for resuming the UN-led talks, which are aimed at breaking out of the long-standing political stalemate in the country. But those talks have reportedly continued in the capital without Hadi. The GPC and the Houthis were said to have agreed to form a presidential council, though UN special envoy to Jamal Benomar denied such reports. 

After Hadi called on the Arab and Western diplomatic missions to relocate to Aden, the Saudi and Emirati embassies resumed their operations while the US embassy announced it will be working from the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The new UK envoy, who has met with Hadi in Aden and handed in his credentials, said his embassy will not relocate to Aden.

Politically isolated as more than a dozen diplomatic missions pulled out of Sanʻa, the Houthis are reportedly seeking to increase engagement with Iran and to establish ties with Russia. Houthi forces were also reported to have stormed the Headquarters of the National Dialogue Conference General Secretariat in the capital.

In his provisional capital, Aden, President Hadi reportedly called for international aid money to be sent to Aden’s branch of the Yemen Central Bank. According to local observers, any such disruption would be “disastrous” if taken, as this poor Arab nation has been depending on foreign aid for years now.

Rival Islamists hold political process hostage

Today we're pleased to present a guest post by Yemeni journalist Mohammed Ali Kalfood. Guest posts do not necessarily reflect the views of the Yemen Peace Project. With the Shiite Houthi movement--apparently allied with former president ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh--taking over the north of Yemen, where Sunni hard-liners are dominant, and a “legitimate” interim president in the south, where al-Qaeda's local offshoot has a strong presence, the UN-led political process in Yemen seems to have been thrown into a long-term “Islamist” rivalry that threatens the stability and security of this most impoverished Arab country.

It’s been more than three years since the process of the peaceful transition of power started in Yemen, one year after the popular uprising burst forth against former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the country for 33 years.

The transition period has been characterized by fierce rivalries over power and territory, which have culminated in a total breakdown of law and order across Yemen, and the collapse of certain parties and factions that previously wielded significant power. Back in 2012, the Islah party—Yemen’s largest opposition party, which includes the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood—and the General Peoples’ Congress (GPC) party, chaired by Saleh, signed the GCC Initiative in Riyadh, a negotiated settlement backed by the Gulf states and the United States, which saw Saleh step down, handing the reins of government to his vice president, 'Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi, in an interim capacity.

President Hadi, in turn, oversaw the National Dialogue Conference (NDC), an assembly of 565 delegates representing political factions and social groups, in an attempt to formulate a federal system of government and constitution.

But since then, Hadi has continued to face dramatic challenges at the political, economic and security levels. Although the NDC was regionally and internationally cited as a “model,” the post-Saleh period saw sectarian conflict, military assassinations, abduction of foreigners, and acts of sabotage increase in several parts of Yemen.

Moreover, al-Qaeda’s franchise in Yemen –known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) – has carried out the deadliest attacks ever since the group began in 2009 and stationed itself in the south of the country. In fact, it had virtually taken control of the southern Abyan province by March 2011, only a month after the popular uprising got under way.

The rise of the Shiite Houthis as new powerbrokers dominating the north and apparently siding with Saleh, is also believed to be another factor that intensified rivalry with the Sunni al-Qaeda in the south. A recently-passed UN resolution intended to punish Saleh and his Houthi allies.

The Houthis, based in their stronghold in the northern province of Saʻdah, started fighting with Sunni hard-liners in the town of Dammaj early in 2013, as the NDC sessions kicked off in March. Then the Houthis advanced through Amran Province and Arhab District before capturing the capital, Sanʻa, in September of 2014. In November they steered towards Radaʻ in central al-Baydha province to fight al-Qaeda there.

As early as 2010, Sunni al-Qaeda publicly vowed to fight the Shiite Houthis, which it regards as heretics. The Houthis are also viewed as Iranian proxies. Al-Qaeda suicide attacks against the Houthis, however, increased dramatically especially in Rada', where more than a dozen attacks had been reported. The Houthi leader, though, has reiterated in his recent speeches that his group will continue to fight al-Qaeda until “it is crushed or driven out.”

Since 2012, the Islah party’s tribal armed men had battled the Houthis in all fronts when the latter advanced from Saʻdah reaching Amran to Hajjah, Sanʻa, Dhamar and Ibb in the mountainous midlands. Al-Jawf province, east Yemen, has also seen fierce clashes. Now the next bout is brewing in the oil-rich Marib province.

Such rivalry between the Shiite Houthis and the Sunni hard-liners, on one hand, is based on a sectarian ground and, on the other hand, there is a political aspect to it. Islah has lost much of its political power, largely at the hands of the Houthis, and is believed to be supporting the violent groups directly and indirectly to reshuffle cards.

The Islah party reportedly used fighters from al-Qaeda in its battles against the Houthis during the last year. While there had been no statements denying such reports, a Twitter account associated with AQAP announced in mid-December that two leading members, 'Ali al-Haniq and Abu Waleed al-San‘ani, were killed fighting alongside the Islah party’s tribesmen in Arhab district, some 35 km to the north of the capital.

The GCC Initiative was snuffed out by the UN-brokered Peace and National Partnership Agreement (PNPA) on September 21, 2014--the day the Houthi group took control of the capital. Back then, the Houthis imposed themselves as a new powerbroker, and their feud with the Islah party and its figures was intensified. The Houthis started to strengthen their presence politically, and eliminated Islah’s positions in the state institutions, which they believe the party had “encroached” on since 2012.

Since September 2014, interim president Hadi faced immense pressure by this new rising power. After a four-month stand-off, Hadi tendered his letter of resignation. Following Hadi’s resignation, the Houthis dissolved the parliament as they announced a constitutional declaration, intending to form a two-year transitional council to preside over the country.

Meanwhile, Hadi was held under house arrest for several weeks before he fled to the southern port city of Aden and established himself there as the “legitimate” president. However, the Houthis continue to rule by force as they have staged crackdowns and abducted several members of Islah party.

Backed by the GCC states, Hadi designated Riyadh as a “safe” venue to relocate the political negotiations; meanwhile the stalled talks between the Houthis, Saleh’s party, and their opponents--led by UN special envoy Jamal Benomar--have recently resumed in Sanʻa. The envoy tried to talk the involved actors into relocating the talks outside of the capital, but the Houthis and GPC parties along with four other political parties refused this proposal.

Despite the GCC and PNPA deals as well as the NDC outcomes, several local observers believe that ongoing political talks will not succeed outside of the country since it’s been over three years now and the involved parties in the capital have not yet come to real peaceful and power-sharing terms.

Feb. 24-March 2: Parties wrangle over location of talks

Editor's note: this week's press review was written by freelance journalist Mohammed Ali Kalfood, filling in for Shuaib Almosawa. Last week’s news coverage spotlighted the issue of relocating the UN-led political talks outside of Yemen’s capital, which has sharply divided the parties involved.

Backed by GCC states, President ‘Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi—who fled house arrest in Sanʻa and established himself in the southern port city of Aden last week—has called for moving negotiations to a “safe place.” The UN special envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, has since been trying to talk the involved political parties, including the Houthis, into relocating the sessions.

The Houthi group and the General People’s Congress party (GPC), along with four other political parties, reportedly refused the proposal of relocating the talks outside of Sanʻa. The Islah Party, on the other hand, welcomed this proposal. It was not clear to where exactly the sessions would be relocated, but Aden, Taʻiz, and three other Arab countries were reportedly the possible destinations.

Since arriving in Aden, President Hadi has received representatives of several states that closed their embassies in Sanʻa last month. US Ambassador Matthew Tueller met with Hadi on Monday. In statements to press following the meeting, Ambassador Tueller reiterated Washington's position that Hadi remains the legitimate president of the republic, and that the GCC Initiative and National Dialogue outcomes must still be implemented.

While the political process has been stalled, the Houthis—who took over power in Sanʻa in January—Continued to take action against their local rivals. The Houthi group was accused of staging crackdowns and abducting members of the Islah party in Sanʻa, which is seen as the main rival to Ansar Allah. Also, the group reportedly killed six people and kidnapped 108 others during February.

Feb. 17-23: Negotiations in question as Hadi challenges Houthi rule

Local news coverage during the Last week has again been focused on the political process intended to fill the void left by the resignation of the president and the government last month. The political parties involved in UN-led talks reportedly agreed to form a new national legislative body which would include representatives of underrepresented groups in addition to the incumbent members of Yemen’s parliament. The new body would add 250 members to the current roster of 301 members of parliament. It is not clear yet how the new members would be chosen; proclamations made recently by Ansar Allah—the Houthi movement’s political leadership—suggest that the movement’s so-called Revolutionary Committees would appoint new legislators. The Houthis dissolved the sitting parliament by revolutionary decree earlier this month.

Despite the relative ease in the ongoing talks between rival parties, opponents of the Houthi movement accused UN special envoy Jamal Benomar of "legitimizing" what they called the "Houthi coup." Such accusations were implicitly reinforced by the Gulf Cooperation Coucil, which demanded that the UN Security Council adopt a resolution against the Houthis under Chapter VII, which would open the way for possible economic and military measures. Russia and China have been featured in the local media as the main powers that opposed such a resolution, calling instead for supporting the ongoing UN talks "without imposing ready-made solutions from the outside."

President Hadi, who had been under house arrest in capital Sanʻa since he was forced to resign last month, appeared in the southern port city of Aden on February 21, after militia men loyal to him captured parts of the city last week. Hadi issued a statement upon his arrival, positioning himself as the legitimate president of the republic and calling on the international community to regard all steps taken by the Houthis since September as null and illegitimate. It's not yet clear how Hadi made it, amid strict security measures, out of his house and through several checkpoints manned by the Houthis. Unnamed Houthi sources claimed that Hadi was disguised in woman clothes during his escape. Other news suggested that the Houthis let Hadi out under pressure from the UNSC to release him without condition.

Hadi’s escape gave him, along with his old allies in the opposition coalition, a strong position from which to negotiate with Ansar Allah. Backed by Saudi Arabia and the GCC, Hadi has called for negotiations be moved to a safe place. The GCC issued a statement on Monday welcoming Hadi's exit to Aden and pledged its full support for the transition.

Feb. 10-16: War of Words between Houthis and Foreign Powers

The closure of several western diplomatic missions as well as those of GGC countries in Yemen got the most attention in local media during the last week. One of the leading local media outlets speculated that the departure of the missions, all of which cited security concerns over the Houthi group's seizure of power, could be a preamble to an international military action against the group. The Houthis are often referred to as an Iranian proxy aimed at destabilizing neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The prospect of a military action against Houthi forces increased as the Egyptian envoy to Yemen threatened to use force if the Houthi leadership decided to shut the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Yemen’s main political parties were reported to have lost hope that the ongoing UN-brokered talks would ever bring about a way out of the current political crisis. They warned the international community that the danger coming out of Yemen would reach all states overseeing transition if those states "didn't act".

The top official in Marib, the oil rich province expected to witness heavy clashes between local tribesmen and Houthi militias, has vowed to take defense actions if the Houthis invade.

Militants of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula stormed the base of a military brigade in Shabwah and looted materiel, claiming that it did so to thwart a Houthi bid to take over the brigade. The recent security vacuum has also led oil companies in southern and eastern Yemen to stop operations.

In the southern port city of Aden, clashes between militias known as Popular Committees—which are loyal to (former) President Hadi—and Central Security Forces said to be loyal to Ansar Allah erupted overnight, with the militias gaining the upper hand and reportedly taking control of government buildings.

Military and security commanders in the south reportedly addressed the issue. The situation remains volatile as the Houthi group slammed Sunday’s UN Security Council resolution, calling on GCC states and the international community to “respect the Yemeni peoples’ will and sovereignty.”

Embassy closures shake Houthis' confidence

On Tuesday afternoon, the US State Department announced that its embassy in San‘a had closed, and that all embassy staff had been evacuated from Yemen. The United Kingdom's mission and several other European embassies quickly followed suit. Official statements cited the "security situation" in San‘a as the primary reason for the closures. On Twitter, UK Ambassador Jane Marriott took the leader of the Houthi movement personally to task for security problems, recalling that Ansar Allah had promised to protect foreign missions after its takeover of much of the capital in September. 

Abdul Malik said Embassies should be safe: many Embassies have had an incident of some kind in the last three weeks.

— Jane Marriott (@JaneMarriottFCO) February 10, 2015

It seems another reason for the closures of many of the so-called G10 states' embassies is that foreign diplomats no longer believe they have a trustworthy counterpart in Yemen's government. Yemen's Ministry of Foreign Affairs appears to be firmly under Houthi control. In another tweet, Ambassador Marriott bristled at the behavior of a Ministry official during a meeting this week.

@ArhabYemen I sent a junior rep. Others walked out. Others stayed as the MFA read out the constitutional declaration as fact.

— Jane Marriott (@JaneMarriottFCO) February 10, 2015

According to sources cited by The New York Times, Houthi fighters confiscated the vehicles and weapons of US embassy staff at the airport, and there have been reports of looting at the embassy.* But the same Times article indicates that Ansar Allah officials were caught off-guard by the severe diplomatic backlash their coup has inspired:

A senior member of the Houthi political bureau, speaking on the condition of anonymity as a matter of policy, expressed regret about the American move. “We didn’t want them to go, and we were ready to work with the American Embassy on measures that would ensure their protection and facilitate their work.”

At this point, the Houthis may be falling victim to their own success. When President Hadi and his government resigned following the armed seizure of the Republican Palace and presidential residence, Ansar Allah was left to clean up the mess. Now, facing opprobrium from other Yemeni factions and the international community, they will likely have to soften their stance if they want to cobble together a credible--or even minimally functional--state. Meanwhile, the group is using the parts of the state it already controls--including Yemen's official press agency, SABA--to simulate legitimacy. After the EU's Foreign Affairs Council issued a stern rebuke of the Houthi coup, SABA published a heavily edited version of the EU statement, removing all mentions of Ansar Allah and its responsibility for the current crisis.

[UPDATE: For the record, the US Marine Corps says that no weapons were taken from embassy Marine Security Force. Rather, all large weapons were destroyed ahead of time, and all rifles and pistols were individually smashed with hammers at the airport prior to the Force's departure.]

February 3-9: Crackdown on press and protests follows Houthi coup

The past week has seen a significant political escalation by the Houthi movement’s leadership, as well as a heavy crackdown on the media and ongoing protests by a group of youth students who are opposing the group’s coup. Two staff members of the Islah-affiliated TV channel, Suhail, were kidnapped on February 3 by Houthi security forces as they covered a protest against the Houthis outside Sanʻa University. Houthi gunmen also allegedly stormed al-Shomuʻ Publishing House and arrested its staff.

A new movement called "For a Stable Nation" accused the Houthis of storming houses and launching a crackdown on protests as well as kidnapping at least a dozen opponents. The movement also accused political parties and UN envoy Jamal Benomar of being in connivance with the Houthi coup, and called for continued street protests.

Adding to the fears of deteriorating freedom was a memo issued by Ministry of Interior, ordering police to ban any “unlicensed” protest. The ministry claimed that the reason for the ban was concern that public gatherings could be targeted by terrorist attacks.

The Houthi’s gradual escalation reached its climax last Friday, with the group’s unilateral decision to issue what they termed as a “Constitutional Declaration,” which dissolved the parliament and appointed top senior officials from the previous government in military and security positions.

The Houthis’ move has raised fears among opponents, including youth activists who have faced harsh repression by the Houthis’ militias since the group took charge of the capital and other provinces in last September.

The youth union has pledged to go on with their protest until the “Houthi coup” is over. The pace of protests against the group has been small yet steady; activists have made Change Square, the center of the 2011 uprising, the launching pad for their ongoing demonstrations. [Larger protests have taken place elsewhere in the country.]

Ansar Allah consolidates power

Friday brought the culmination of Ansar Allah's slow-motion coup. Following last week's ultimatum in which 'Abd al-Malik al-Houthi essentially threatened to impose a solution if Yemen's other parties failed to hand him the throne, the Houthis have done just that. At a ceremony in San‘a, a spokesman for the Houthi movement read a "constitutional declaration" which outlined the governance structure of the Houth-controlled state. In short, Yemen's parliament has been dissolved. It will be replaced by a 551-member Transitional National Council, the members of which will be appointed by the "Revolutionary Committees" throughout Yemen. The National Council will then appoint a five-member presidential council, which will, it seems, serve as the formal head of state. The presidency will then form a transitional government. This situation will remain in place for a maximum of two years.You can read the official Arabic document here, and an unofficial English translation by Haykal Bafana here. According to the declaration, the work of the National Council, the Presidential Council, and the government is to be "guided" by the so-called Revolutionary Committees. This means that even thought the Houthi leadership and its allies are going to hand-pick the members of these new institutions, Ansar Allah--through its armed wing--will retain the power to veto any and all decisions by force. There's an interesting tension on display within Ansar Allah right now between the group's obvious determination to take control of the state, and 'Abd al-Malik al-Houthi's desperation to maintain a facade of legality and legitimacy in all that he does. All of his statements are full of patriotic rhetoric; he has praised Yemen's valiant military (too valiant to fight him) ad nauseam, and he repeatedly called upon Yemen's somewhat-legal authorities to come up with a solution to the crisis he brought about, rather than just seizing power outright. But President Hadi's resignation (probably deliberately) forced al-Houthi to clean up his own mess, and here at last is his decisive act. Even now though, 'Abd al-Malik will not install himself in the seat of power. As much as he loves to deliver speeches, he didn't even issue his own pronouncement today. Instead, taking a page from Hadi's playbook, he had a respected newsreader do it for him. Unsure what the response to his power grab will be (and perhaps afraid to leave his mountain fastness in Sa‘dah), he will lurk behind three layers of ostensibly "constitutional" transitional authorities, at least for now.

The next phase of the Houthi soap opera will focus on two questions: how Yemen's neighbors and "friends" will react, and how much longer the alliance of convenience between al-Houthi, 'Ali Saleh's GPC, and the northern tribes will last.

January 26-February 2: Talks continue, Houthis issue new ultimatum

Editor's note: This week we welcome a new contributor to the YPP blog, Shuaib Almosawa. Shuaib is a freelance journalist based in San`a; his reporting is regularly featured in The New York Times, among other publications. Over the next few months he'll be providing our readers with weekly summaries of ongoing and emerging stories. You can also find him on Twitter at @shuaibalmosawa. Yemen’s political parties have for the past week been holding UN-brokered talks to fill a vacuum caused by Houthi forces’ January offensive, which led to the resignation of both the government and President Hadi. The Houthis, who stormed the capital in late September taking control of all government buildings, had objected to a constitutional draft that divides the country into six regions. On January 17 they kidnapped Ahmad Awadh bin Mubarak, President Abdu Rabu Mansur Hadi’s office director. Two days later, Houthi Popular Committees clashed with Hadi’s Presidential Guards. The Houthis have since put Hadi and key ministers under house arrest.

The sudden takeover by the Houthis, as well as increasing demands by Hirak factions for southern secession, have necessitated another round of UN-brokered talks that include the Houthi leadership and other main political powers. Talks aim to agree on a presidential transitional council that will address the constitutional draft and prepare for elections.

Concerned over the Huthis’ tightening grip on power, the GCC countries, which sponsored the 2011 agreement that installed Hadi as president, have called the recent events a coup. The events have also led France’s embassy in Sana’a to close to the public this Monday; the US and UK embassies have also reduced their staff and services.

University students and youth activists have also staged rallies denouncing the Houthi coup. Protests have been met with violence, and arrests of activists and journalists by Houthi militiamen.

In his recent speech after Hadi’s resignation, the group’s leader, ‘Abd al-Malik al-Houthi, called for a peaceful transition of power, echoing a US White House official who commented on the Yemen situation. After speculation that recent events could bring the US drone campaign to a halt as America’s preferred ally is out, eastern regions of Yemen have over the past week seen three drone attacks against suspected al-Qaeda militants. There have been no public talks between American officials and Houthis.

Simultaneously with the UN-brokered talks, the Houthis held three massive meetings of supporters and allies in capital, the last of which ended on Sunday. It gave a three-day ultimatum for the political powers to come up with a solution. “Otherwise,” read the meeting’s final statement, “the Revolutionary Committees will take necessary actions.”

A Houthi Retrospective

This week we witnessed major political developments in Yemen, as the Houthi* Movement--also referred to as Ansar Allah--solidified control of the capital, San‘a, and Yemen’s central government collapsed. As happens every so often, the US and international press are now paying attention to Yemen, but mainstream news outlets rarely provide the background and context their audiences need to understand stories like these. As an aid to readers who may be new to the Yemen beat, I've collected some essential links below.

My coverage of this week's dramatic events (be sure to follow the links in each post, too):

1/19: “Coup, or Business as Usual in San‘a” Monday in southern San‘a began with the sound of machine-gun and artillery fire, as fighting broke out between Houthi “Popular Committee” militiamen and military units loyal to President Hadi.

1/20: “Al-Houthi Lays Down the Law” The ceasefire agreed yesterday between President Hadi and Houthi Popular Committees was quickly shown to be a dead letter, as intermittent clashes began again on Tuesday. By the evening, Houthi forces had the presidential palace, President Hadi's residence, and the military camp overlooking the palace all surrounded, and had cut off all roads leading into the area

1/22: “Hadi and Government Resign under Houthi Pressure” After a week of surprisingly rapid developments in what had previously been a very slow-motion coup, the political situation in Yemen took another turn on Thursday. First, Yemen’s prime minister, Khaled Bahah, delivered his resignation–and that of his government–to President Hadi, who himself resigned soon thereafter.

We’ve also explored the origins and rise of the Houthi movement on previous episodes of our Mafraj Radio Podcast:

9/16/2014: “President Hadi vs. Ansar Allah” On this episode we discussed the protest campaign that preceded the Houthis’ military capture of San‘a, with pro-Houthi activist Alhossain Albokhaiti and journalist Peter Salisbury.

2/27/13: “The Rise of Anti-state Movements” On our first episode we spoke with scholar Madeleine Wells Goldburt and journalist Adam Baron about the origins of the Houthi movement, the six-year armed conflict between the movement and the state, and Ansar Allah’s consolidation of power in Yemen’s far north and beyond. The segment on Ansar Allah begins at 11 minutes, and is preceded by an exploration of the Southern independence movement.

Have questions about the Houthi movement or the current crisis in Yemen? Talk to us on Facebook or Twitter; we're always happy hear from our readers.

*Because the mainstream media almost unanimously use the spelling "Houthi," and I want our blog posts to appear in search results, I'm abandoning my long-standing practice of using the simpler "Huthi" spelling as of today. The old spelling will persist in our archives.

Hadi and Government resign under Houthi pressure

After a week of surprisingly rapid developments in what had previously been a very slow-motion coup, the political situation in Yemen took another turn on Thursday. First, Yemen's prime minister, Khaled Bahah, delivered his resignation--and that of his government--to President Hadi. In a message later published by (former) Information Minister Nadia al-Sakkaf, Bahah said that while his technocratic government had done its best for the nation,

...we decided today to present our resignation...so that we are not made party to what is going on and what will happen. We are not responsible for the actions of others, in front of God and in front of the Yemeni people. We regret that it has come to this, and we apologize to you the patient people of Yemen and pray that God will sail Yemen to stability and safety.

Shortly thereafter, official sources confirmed that President Hadi had delivered his own letter of resignation to Yemen's parliament (which, in case you've forgotten, hasn't faced an election since 2003. The current parliament's mandate was in effect extended indefinitely by decree of former president Saleh). According to the constitution (which still technically exists, but really, come on), parliament has to either accept or refuse the resignation by a majority vote, which will be held this Sunday.

Hadi's move was widely seen as a desperate rebuttal to 'Abd al-Malik al-Huthi's totally-not-a-coup. The resignation of Yemen's entire executive branch forces Ansar Allah to take direct responsibility for the situation it has caused. Maybe. This, after all, is Yemen. Doubtless there are more machinations going on behind the scenes, and some kind of negotiated settlement could emerge soon.

For an even better summary of Thursday's developments, read Gregory Johnsen's piece for Buzzfeed. Today, Friday, 'Abd al-Malik al-Huthi has called for public demonstrations in San'a in support of his "revolution" (and also against the anti-Muslim French magazine Charlie Hebdo, because 'Abd al-Malik loves to be relevant). Meanwhile, anti-coup protesters who tried to set up a tent at Change Square last night were reportedly beaten by Huthi gunmen. Can't wait to see what happens next.