This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/world/middleeast/presidential-residence-in-yemen-is-attacked.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Houthi Rebels Seize Presidential Palace in What Leader Calls Warning to President Coup Fears Rise in Yemen as Rebels Storm Palace
(about 4 hours later)
SANA, Yemen — Houthi rebel militiamen seized control of the Yemen president’s palace and shelled his residence on Tuesday, the information minister reported, in an escalation of the violent crisis that has gripped the capital for the past days and raised fears of a coup in one of the Arab world’s weakest countries. SANA, Yemen — Houthi rebel militiamen seized control of the palace of Yemen’s president and clashed with guards outside his residence on Tuesday, in an escalation of the violent crisis that has gripped the capital for days and raised fears of a coup in one of the Arab world’s most impoverished and insecure states.
The president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, an important American ally, was believed to be in the capital, but his exact whereabouts was unknown. He made no public statements as the fighting escalated, though Houthi leaders insisted on Tuesday evening that he was safe. The president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, viewed by the United States as a crucial counterterrorism ally, was believed to be in the capital, but his exact whereabouts was unknown. He made no public statements as the fighting escalated, though Houthi leaders insisted that he was safe and in his home.
Later on Tuesday, the most senior Houthi leader, Abdel Malik Al-Houthi, gave a televised speech indicating that the advances by his fighters on Tuesday were intended as a warning to President Hadi, rather than an attempt to depose him. If President Hadi did not respond to a set of demands, Mr. Houthi said, “all necessary measures will be open.” Later on Tuesday, the most senior Houthi leader, Abdel Malik al-Houthi, gave a televised speech indicating that the advances by his fighters were a warning to Mr. Hadi to accelerate political changes they have demanded, and not an attempt to depose him. But if the president did not respond, Mr. Houthi said, “all necessary measures will be open.”
The mayhem that has convulsed Yemen, which left at least eight people dead on Monday in Sana, is increasingly worrisome to American officials because the country is the home base of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has asserted responsibility for a number of attacks, most notably the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris this month. The mayhem that has convulsed Yemen, which left at least eight people dead on Monday in Sana, also left citizens facing a leadership vacuum as the country is seized by crises, including spreading armed conflict and widespread hunger. The turmoil has been increasingly worrisome to American officials because Yemen is the base of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has asserted responsibility for a number of attacks, most notably the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris this month.
While the Houthis oppose Al Qaeda, they also oppose the strong American influence on Yemen’s government, which has cooperated in dozens of American drone strikes against Al Qaeda leaders and their subordinates. While the Houthis oppose Al Qaeda, they have vowed to curb American influence on Yemen’s government, which has cooperated for years with United States drone strikes against Qaeda leaders and their subordinates.
The Houthi seizure of the presidential palace and shelling of the residence came after what the country’s information minister, Nadia Sakkaf, described as heavy shelling of both by armed militia members. The deterioration in Yemen preoccupied diplomats at the United Nations Security Council, which released a statement emphasizing that President Hadi was still the recognized authority. The statement “condemned the recourse to violence” and urged dialogue.
Ms. Sakkaf, who has been providing a Twitter feed about the increased mayhem in the capital, said in one post that the presidential residence had come under heavy shelling by militiamen in the midafternoon and that the presidential palace had also been attacked. The Houthi advance on Tuesday, and its leader’s ultimatum, cemented the group’s status as Yemen’s most powerful opposition movement.
Houthi guards were later seen outside both compounds. The Houthis’ rise to prominence began in September, when Houthi fighters swept into Sana, seizing control of crucial government installations and vowing to force Mr. Hadi’s government to implement political and economic reforms. The Houthi movement, which began as an activist group seeking greater rights for Yemen’s Zaydi Shiite minority, has consolidated its control in the capital and beyond.
“Events in Yemen are changing and developing very rapidly,” Ms. Sakkaf said in a series of postings on the violence, which appeared to have shattered a fragile cease-fire that took effect late on Monday. But Houthi fighters have caused resentment among political parties that they have attacked, misgivings among segments of the public suspicious of their heavy-handed tactics and a violent reaction from the Sunni extremists in Al Qaeda whom the Houthis have confronted.
There were conflicting accounts of what appeared to be a political vacuum in the capital. CNN quoted Ms. Sakkaf as saying the situation was “the completion of a coup” and that the president had “no control.” Efforts to contact Ms. Sakkaf about those quoted remarks were not immediately successful, as her phone was switched off. In his speech, Mr. Houthi struck themes that have won his movement supporters, framing his fighters’ attacks in Sana as a reaction to what he called Mr. Hadi’s stubbornness and Yemen’s corrupt political class, which had “abdicated” responsibility.
Government officials have accused the Houthi militiamen, members of an increasingly powerful movement whose leaders are Zaydi Shiites from northern Yemen, of trying to carry out a coup. Speaking against a backdrop that read “the revolution continues,” he praised Yemen’s military and appeared to reach out to regional powers, including Saudi Arabia. The Saudi monarchy views the Houthis as a proxy for its rival, Iran, and has begun withholding financial aid to Yemen’s government.
The Houthis, who have asserted their strength in Sana more forcefully in recent weeks, have been pressing Mr. Hadi over troubled negotiations on a draft constitution. Accusing Mr. Hadi of protecting corruption, Mr. Houthi’s demands also reflected his movement’s narrow preoccupations, notably concerns about the draft constitution: The Houthis have objected to a plan that would divide Yemen into six provinces, perhaps fearing it would diminish their newly acquired power.
Ali Al-Qahoom, a Houthi political leader, said there had been clashes on Tuesday afternoon at Mr. Hadi’s residence, but that by early evening, the fighting had been “contained.” “This move is serious,” Mr. Houthi said of his group’s maneuvers in the capital. “We are determined, and we will never hesitate to impose any action necessary.”
By about 6:30 p.m., the streets leading to the president’s residence were quiet, but heavily guarded and blocked by Houthi gunmen, who turned approaching cars away. April Longley Alley, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group who is currently in Sana, said some Houthi demands “are quite legitimate.”
A five-minute drive from the residence, the presidential palace was also surrounded by Houthi gunmen, on foot and in armored vehicles. Presidential guard troops were seen leaving the palace with their belongings, and said that they had been ordered to leave by the Houthis. “It’s the means they use to implement them that are counterproductive,” she said. Their use of force to get what they want, she said, had created “a scenario where you do have the prospect of real collapse.”
The deterioration in Yemen on Tuesday preoccupied diplomats at the United Nations Security Council, which held an emergency session to hear from its special envoy to the country, Jamal Benomar. On Saturday, Houthi fighters kidnapped a top aide to Mr. Hadi in broad daylight. On Monday, they battled government troops in Sana, with artillery and mortar fire falling in residential areas.
He told diplomats that the rebels had used heavy weapons in an attack on the presidential palace, and that presidential guards had fought back. American officials in Yemen said that a United States diplomatic vehicle in Sana had come under fire Monday evening at a Houthi checkpoint near the embassy, but that nobody in the vehicle was hurt.
In a statement issued by the Security Council on Tuesday afternoon, members emphasized that President Hadi was still the recognized authority in Yemen. The statement “condemned the recourse to violence in recent days” and urged a renewed dialogue on the draft constitution. A fragile cease-fire that took effect Monday night was broken on Tuesday, as the Houthis demanded that guards at the presidential palace leave, and blocked roads to Mr. Hadi’s residence.
American officials in Yemen disclosed that a United States diplomatic vehicle in Sana came under fire Monday evening at a Houthi checkpoint near the embassy. Christiaan James, a spokesman for the embassy, said Houthi gunmen had first fired in the air then turned their weapons on the vehicle. Yemen’s information minister, Nadia Sakkaf, said on her Twitter feed that the Houthis had shelled Mr. Hadi’s residence, but residents described the fighting as skirmishes between Houthi fighters and Mr. Hadi’s guards.
Mr. James did not specify who was inside but said “our personnel were able to get away and there were no injuries.” In Washington, an American intelligence official characterized the developments in Yemen as “very significant” and “serious,” though he saw no indications that United States Embassy personnel were in any immediate danger or that any evacuation was imminent.
In Washington, an American intelligence official characterized the developments in Yemen as “very significant” and “serious,” though he said he saw no indications that United States Embassy personnel were in any immediate danger or that any evacuation was imminent. In Sana, where residents have become accustomed to periodic intrusions of violence since the 2011 uprising against Mr. Hadi’s predecessor, shops opened again on Tuesday despite the turmoil.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of prohibitions on talking publicly about troubles in an allied country’s government, described the Houthi actions and violence as “deliberate political escalation” as opposed to an out-of-control mob. Marwan al-Wisabi, a 23-year old receptionist who watched Mr. Houthi’s speech, said Mr. Hadi had deserved his public rebuke.
He said there were no signs that President Hadi had left the country, and that the president appeared to be trying to reach a political settlement. “He’s been power for three years and done nothing,” he said.
American military officials said two warships, the Iwo Jima and the Fort McHenry, were positioned near the Yemen coast and could be used, if needed, to help with any full or partial withdrawal from the embassy, but that there were no such plans for now.
“The assets in the area have been there for some time as part of a routine presence,” Maj. Curtis Kellogg, a spokesman for the United States Central Command, said in an email, “and we did not have to relocate assets from elsewhere in response to the situation.”