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Shiite rebels said to reach deal to end standoff in Yemeni capital Shiite rebels said to reach deal to end standoff in Yemeni capital
(about 1 hour later)
SANAA, Yemen — Shiite insurgents reached an agreement late Wednesday with Yemen’s embattled president aimed at ending a violent standoff in the capital, the state news agency and government officials reported. SANAA, Yemen — Shiite insurgents reached an agreement late Wednesday with Yemen’s embattled president to end a siege of his residence and call off a rebel offensive that the government and regional Arab states have decried as a coup attempt.
The accord came after Houthi rebels tightened their grip on Sanaa, seizing control of a missile base and holding President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi as a virtual hostage in a showdown that threatened a key American ally in the fight against al-Qaeda. President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi agreed to the deal with Houthi rebels who seized his presidential palace and surrounded his residence about three miles away, isolating him there as a virtual “captive” since Tuesday, according to aides. Hadi is thought to have remained at his home during the crisis.
Yemen’s state-run SABA news agency reported that the agreement between Hadi and the Houthis calls for the rebels to withdraw from the presidential palace and from positions around Hadi’s residence and to release a top aide they had kidnapped. Hadi agreed to meet the Houthis’ demands to amend the constitution and expand their representation in parliament and state institutions, SABA said. The accord, announced by the state-run SABA news agency, includes deep concessions to the Houthi rebels. It was confirmed by Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf in a Twitter message.
Yemen’s information minister tweeted confirmation of the deal. The Houthi offensive badly undermined the authority of a leader who is considered an important ally of Washington in the fight against Yemen’s powerful al-Qaeda affiliate.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that Hadi remains the head of “the legitimate Yemeni government” and that “we remain in touch with him.” She said U.S. counterterrorism cooperation with the Yemeni government is continuing “at this point in time.” There was no immediate response to the reported deal in Washington. Earlier Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that Hadi remains the head of “the legitimate Yemeni government” and that “we remain in touch with him.” She said U.S. counterterrorism cooperation with the government in Sanaa is continuing “at this point in time.”
Days of fast-moving advances by the Houthi rebel faction — believed to be backed by Iran — had left the Western-backed government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi backed into a corner with rapidly diminishing options. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Obama administration’s “top priority in Yemen right now” is the safety of U.S. citizens, adding that Washington wants the Yemeni people to solve their political differences peacefully.
Just hours after storming the presidential palace on Tuesday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik Houthi gave what amounted to an ultimatum: Hadi could either move ahead with reforms that include giving rebels more power or risk intensified attacks that could topple his government. “We are monitoring this minute by minute,” Earnest told reporters. “We’ll take whatever steps are necessary to protect American citizens up to and including evacuating the embassy if we determine that’s necessary.”
The brinksmanship and uncertainty pushed Yemen closer to a full-scale political breakdown that risked disrupting ties with Washington and among Yemen’s key regional allies, including neighboring Saudi Arabia. The fighting has been the most intense since the Houthis stormed into the capital in September and began taking control of Yemen’s institutions, as well as at least nine provincial capitals. The offensive raised fears that Yemen could plunge into a power vacuum, if not a full-scale civil war, that could be exploited by militants linked to al-Qaeda. The terrorist network’s Yemeni affiliate, known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), claimed responsibility for a deadly Jan. 7 attack in Paris on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, triggering three days of violence that left 20 people dead including the three perpetrators.
Washington depends on Hadi’s government as a critical partner against al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, which is considered one of the most active in recruitment and waging potential attacks. The group, known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), claimed responsibility for a role in the deadliest attack amid the Paris bloodshed earlier this month. A presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety, said Hadi has been stripped of significant authority by the deal with the Houthis. On Tuesday evening, the Houthi leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, presented Hadi with an ultimatum in a speech that threatened more attacks if he did not accept it. Houthi issued four demands, including a role in drafting a new constitution acceptable to the Houthis, who have waged an intermittent rebellion against the government since 2004.
Greater chaos in Yemen could be a serious setback to U.S.-led pressures against AQAP, including drone strikes. It also could open another sectarian battleground in the Middle East between Sunni-led al-Qaeda and the rival Shiite rebels. Under the deal, according to the SABA report, the president agreed to increase the Houthis’ representation in parliament and heed their constitutional demands. Yemen would also become a federal state, although it was not immediately clear whether that would mean retaining a proposal in an existing draft constitution to create six federalized provinces. The Houthis have rejected that idea.
A closely watched barometer of U.S. worries is whether the Obama administration keeps open the embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. There were no immediately signs from Washington of a full diplomatic withdrawal. The document also calls for more participation in the government by people in southern Yemen, where a separatist movement has gained momentum in recent years.
Before the reported agreement between the Houthis and Hadi late Wednesday, the president remained pinned down in his besieged residence, even as Houthi fighters consolidated control in Sanaa. One presidential adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, described Hadi as a “captive” at that point. The Houthi assault alarmed Yemen’s neighbors, especially Sunni Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, which see the Shiite insurgents as proxies for Iran. Earlier on Wednesday, foreign ministers from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, harshly condemned the assault, calling it “coup d’etat.”
Rebels, meanwhile, added to their growing list of captured prizes. Houthi units easily took control of a missile base overlooking the city, the AP reported. The fighters apparently faced no resistance in another possible sign of deep divisions and disarray in the military ranks. Consisting of Yemen’s Arab neighbors in the Persian Gulf — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman — the GCC demanded that security be returned to normal and that the government be allowed to reassert control.
In protest of the Houthi actions, authorities closed the airport in the southern port city of Aden on Wednesday “until further notice,” Tarek Abdu, the head of the air facility, said in comments reported by the AP. The city’s seaport, a key lifeline for landlocked Sanaa, also was shut. The organization, which did not immediately respond to the reported agreement to end the crisis, also demanded that the Houthis release an aide to the president who was kidnapped Saturday in an apparent protest over the drafting of the new constitution. Yemen’s prime minister, Khalid Bahah, also has been besieged in a different palace in the capital, but his status was not clear.
The Houthis have been vocal critics of the U.S. government. But it was not immediately clear whether the rebels would force the Yemeni president to suspend the strikes, since the Houthis also consider al-Qaeda an enemy. Nor was it known how the agreement with the Houthis would affect relations between the United States and Yemen. Hadi, who came to power in 2012 after a popular uprising led to the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, fostered unprecedented cooperation between Yemeni forces and the U.S. military in using drone strikes to target al-Qaeda militants.
The Houthis, followers of the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam, are based in the northern Saada province but swept into the capital in September. The collapse of cease-fire talks on Monday then triggered a series of blitz-style rebel attacks at the heart of power. Those attacks increased substantially after Hadi came to power. However, civilian casualties have angered many Yemenis.
Fighters stormed the presidential palace and surrounded Hadi in his residence, about three miles away. Ali al-Bukhayti, an official in the Houthis’ political affairs office, said by telephone that the insurgent group has “no communication” with the United States. “We are not convinced of the usefulness of the so-called U.S. war on al-Qaeda,” he said. He called the drone attacks as “a flagrant violation of national sovereignty.” The Houthis themselves have battled al-Qaeda-linked militants before.
Hours later, the rebel chief, Abdulmalik Houthi, delivered a long televised statement that stopped short of declaring a change of leadership. He leveled sweeping criticism at Hadi for alleged corruption and for failing to unite a country beset by years of unrest and a growing water shortage. On Wednesday, Houthi fighters were still consolidating their control over the capital, easily capturing a missile base overlooking the city. The fighters apparently faced no resistance — another possible sign of deep divisions and disarray in the ranks of the Yemeni military.
He demanded talks that could leave Hadi in charge — if barely. The Houthis have long demanded more political rights and an end to what they charge is official discrimination. They have portrayed their assault on the capital as part of a campaign to end corruption and initiate reforms that many Yemenis see as having stalled under Hadi’s leadership.
“All options are open,” the rebel leader said. He called on the president to implement power-sharing agreements signed by Hadi and the Houthis in September. The Houthis, who follow the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam, reject accusations that they are acting as a proxy for Iran, which is led by Shiite clerics.
The Houthis have mounted intermittent rebellions against the government since 2004 over what they say is discrimination. Zaydis form nearly a third of Yemen’s population of 24 million, which is majority Sunni Muslim.
Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president, who is also a Zaydi, was able to remain in power for more than three decades, in part because of his ability to cultivate ties with Sunni officials and tribal leaders. He was forced out of office in 2012 by a popular uprising inspired by the Arab Spring. His departure led to Hadi winning a single-candidate election for the presidency.
Many in Yemen accuse Saleh of using his ties with the military to undermine the current president. They say he has conspired with the Houthis, who have been steadily advancing southward and now control nine provincial capitals.
The Houthis are opposed by the Sunni tribes, some of whom sympathize with AQAP. The crisis also risks splintering the military into rival factions. Meanwhile, southern separatists have been agitating for several years to undo a 1990 pact that unified North and South Yemen, and they may feel emboldened by the growing chaos.
Although the Houthis have battled with al-Qaeda-linked fighters before, the potential unraveling of central authority may offer breathing room for AQAP, allowing the group to plan attacks outside Yemen.
AQAP claimed responsibility for planning and funding the attack early this month at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the start of three days of terrorist violence in which three gunmen killed a total of 17 people. The assailants were killed in police raids Jan. 9.
Sunni Arab nations, including neighboring Saudi Arabia, accuse the Houthis of being a proxy for Shiite power Iran. The Houthis deny this and say they seek to root out corruption.
The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday called an emergency meeting after rebels seized the presidential palace, and issued a statement condemning the violence and calling for a cease-fire.
The statement, approved unanimously by the council’s 15 members, “underlined” that Hadi is “the legitimate authority based on election results.”
The Security Council said Yemenis “must stand with President Hadi” and his government in order to “keep the country on track to stability and security.”
Naylor reported from Beirut. Brian Murphy and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.Naylor reported from Beirut. Brian Murphy and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.