Houthi expansion puts Yemen on edge of civil war – Sunni tribes allying with Al-Qaeda against Houthi

[Sally]

It certainly looks like there will be unrest in Yemen far into the future.

Houthi expansion puts Yemen on edge of civil war – Sunni tribes allying with Al-Qaeda against Houthis
SANAA: An advance into Yemen’s Sunni Muslim heartland by Shiite Houthi fighters has galvanized support for Al-Qaeda among some Sunnis, deepening the religious hue of the country’s many conflicts, with potential consequences well beyond its borders. Yemen’s tribal, regional and political divisions were widened by the rapid fall of the capital Sanaa to Houthi fighters on Sept 21 after weeks of protests against the government and its decision to cut fuel subsidies.

“The Houthi expansion has created a sectarian problem,” said Bassam Al-Barq, a Sunni Muslim resident of the religiously mixed Sanaa, attending a protest by local activists held every week to demand the Houthis quit the capital. “It has created sympathy with Al-Qaeda, as we see in Ibb and Al-Baydah,” Barq said, referring to two provinces in central Yemen where some local tribes have allied themselves with Al-Qaeda’s local wing, Ansar Al-Sharia. Ahmed Al-Kalaz, a former Yemeni diplomat who comes from Al-Baydah, agreed: “The expansion of the Houthis to al-Baydah has created a suitable environment for Al-Qaeda.”

Sectarian bloodshed has spread across the Middle East. Now Yemen, ancestral homeland of the Saudi-born Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, looks to be edging closer to civil war, something that could destabilize its neighbors, including the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia. But while the Yemen crisis bears some hallmarks of a proxy war between the Gulf’s two main powers-Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran-its causes are rooted in local problems. The country is still struggling to adapt after former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted in 2012 under a UN backed Gulf initiative aimed at preventing ‘Arab Spring’ protests against him descending into civil war.

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Houthi expansion puts Yemen on edge of civil war - Sunni tribes allying with Al-Qaeda against Houthis - Kuwait Times Kuwait Times?

 

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Houthi rebels ready to enter peace talks to end crisis in Yemen...

Yemen crisis: Houthi rebels inform UN they are ready to join talks to end conflict
Friday 9 October 2015 - Militants' leader tells Charlene Rodrigues in Sanaa that they are willing to negotiate and it is the Saudi-led air strikes – which have killed civilians – that are prolonging the bloodshed

The compound was once the home of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Now, however, the Houthi control the heavily fortified Republican Palace in Sanaa’s al-Qasr street. There are innumerable security checks. Visitors are transported clandestinely in vehicles with dark glazed windows after intense background checks. The security is tight because in the compound can be found Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the leader of the group that has plunged Yemen into civil war since it seized Sanaa as part of its takeover in January. There is no dress code for the soldiers who guard Mr Ali Houthi: some are in military uniforms; others don white robes and carry rifles strapped across their shoulders. The insurgents’ curious stares are mixed with worried smiles as they go about their morning tasks.

The presidential palace in Sanaa, which has so far remained unscathed despite constant Saudi air strikes, is controlled by Houthi rebels led by Mohammed​

The presidential palace now occupied by Mr Ali Houthi is still unharmed by near-constant air strikes from the Saudi-led coalition opposed to the Houthi rebels and seeking the return of President Hadi. In the reception hall, where traditional Yemeni stained-glass windows and chandeliers remain, The Independent meets Mr Ali Houthi. Burly with a youthful face for a man in his late 30s, he is dressed in a white thawb, a traditional Yemeni scarf, with a jambiyaa (sword) strapped to his waist. When asked why it took three months to allow an interview, Mr Ali Houthi laughs.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi rebels​

He saves much of his scorn not for the Saudi Arabian government, which is fighting the Houthi on many fronts in Yemen, but for America. He says: “We believe from the start of the war, the person responsible for what is happening in Yemen is the US. They are the ones who are instigating Saudi Arabia to fight us. America creates foreign policy for the world and gets the GCC [Gulf Co-operation Council] to adopt it. We are also a group of Yemeni people with values and principles of the Yemeni people, united with Yemenis against injustice.”

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Saudis hand over Houthi prisoners...

Saudi hands over Houthi prisoners as Yemen peace efforts inch ahead: spokesman
Sat Apr 30, 2016 - Yemen's Houthi movement said on Saturday its foe Saudi Arabia had handed over 40 prisoners as part of an agreement to quell border fighting as U.N.-backed peace negotiations to end Yemen's civil war crept forward.

The Iran-allied Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed exiled government are trying to broker a peace and ease a humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest country where conflict has drawn in regional powers and killed at least 6,000 people. "We received 40 prisoners, 20 of those were captured inside Yemen," Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said in a statement. He did not say where the remaining prisoners had been captured.

On Saturday, a Houthi delegation in Kuwait, where the talks are being held, presented a plan to the United Nations for a transitional government to oversee a handing over of arms and freeing of political prisoners before elections. The Houthis have demanded the exclusion of Yemen's exiled president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, from a vote, a negotiating source told Reuters.

Yemen's government want the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over weapons and withdraw from cities captured last year before starting any dialogue, the source said. "The atmosphere was positive... everyone renewed their commitment to cease hostilities," said United Nations envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. "We are working to develop a framework that builds on commonalities. Does this mean we removed all obstacles to a political solution? No, but we are getting there."

The stability of Yemen, where al Qaeda and Islamic State are vying for influence, is of international concern as the country neighbors Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and is also near key shipping lanes. Riyadh and a coalition of Arab states entered Yemen's civil war a year ago in an attempt to restore President Hadi after the Houthis and forces loyal to Saleh ousted him from power.

Saudi hands over Houthi prisoners as Yemen peace efforts inch ahead: spokesman