Yemen update: Sanaa formally “occupied” by Houthi rebels
February 08, 2015
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Over the past several months, we've watched the situation in Yemen devolve to the point of chaos. In September, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels took informal control of the capital city of Sanaa; then, in mid-January, Yemen's active al-Qaeda cell took credit for the terror attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and threatened similar acts of violence.
Around the same time, American officials in Yemen began to question the security of State Department and other officials stationed at the embassy in Sanaa, and on January 20, were poised to evacuate. Houthi rebels had amped up the violence in the city, and laid siege to the presidential palace and personal residence of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. A compromise was reached between the rebels and the now-hostage government, but negotiations quickly broke down; President Hadi and his government resigned, and the Houdi maintained comfortable control of key areas of the capital.
Now, the Houthi have dissolved parliament, and for all intents and purposes taken formal control of the country.
Via NPR:
A televised statement read by an unidentified Houthi member called the takeover "a new era that will take Yemen to safe shores." He said the group was forming a 151-member presidential council that would act as a government for two years. Revolutionary Committees would be in charge of forming a new parliament, the statement said. The Associated Press adds:"The development also plunges the impoverished country deeper into turmoil and threatens to turn the crisis into a full-blown sectarian conflict, pitting the Iran-backed Houthi Shiites against Sunni tribesmen and secessionists in the south."