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| Yemen’s Houthi rebels replace president’s guards | Yemen’s Houthi rebels replace president’s guards |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Yemen’s minority Shia Houthi fighters have taken up guard at the home of the president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, but said they had not toppled him, after two days of fighting in the capital. | Yemen’s minority Shia Houthi fighters have taken up guard at the home of the president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, but said they had not toppled him, after two days of fighting in the capital. |
| The Houthis swept into Sana’a four months ago and have emerged as the dominant force in the country. For now at least they appear to have decided to stop short of overthrowing Hadi. | The Houthis swept into Sana’a four months ago and have emerged as the dominant force in the country. For now at least they appear to have decided to stop short of overthrowing Hadi. |
| Their defeat of the presidential guards in gun battles and artillery duels in recent days adds to disarray in a country where the United States is also carrying out drone strikes against one of the most powerful branches of al-Qaida. | Their defeat of the presidential guards in gun battles and artillery duels in recent days adds to disarray in a country where the United States is also carrying out drone strikes against one of the most powerful branches of al-Qaida. |
| After clashes at the president’s office and home on Tuesday, the Houthis’ leader threatened in a speech overnight to take further “measures” unless Hadi bows to his demand for constitutional changes that would increase Houthi power. | After clashes at the president’s office and home on Tuesday, the Houthis’ leader threatened in a speech overnight to take further “measures” unless Hadi bows to his demand for constitutional changes that would increase Houthi power. |
| By early morning on Wednesday, Houthi fighters, accompanied by an armoured vehicle, had replaced the guards at the president’s residence. Presidential guard sentry posts were initially empty, but a few guards later appeared and were permitted to take up positions. | By early morning on Wednesday, Houthi fighters, accompanied by an armoured vehicle, had replaced the guards at the president’s residence. Presidential guard sentry posts were initially empty, but a few guards later appeared and were permitted to take up positions. |
| “President Hadi is still in his home. There is no problem; he can leave,” Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi politburo, told Reuters. | “President Hadi is still in his home. There is no problem; he can leave,” Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi politburo, told Reuters. |
| Yemeni military sources said the Houthis also seized the military aviation college located close to Hadi’s home, and the main missile base in Sana’a, without a fight. | Yemeni military sources said the Houthis also seized the military aviation college located close to Hadi’s home, and the main missile base in Sana’a, without a fight. |
| Gulf Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday condemned what they called a “coup d’etat” by the Houthi movement. | Gulf Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday condemned what they called a “coup d’etat” by the Houthi movement. |
| Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council demanded the Houthis withdraw from Hadi’s palace and private home, free an aide kidnapped by the group, normalise the security situation in Sana’a and return government institutions to state control. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. | Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council demanded the Houthis withdraw from Hadi’s palace and private home, free an aide kidnapped by the group, normalise the security situation in Sana’a and return government institutions to state control. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. |
| In the south of Yemen, Hadi’s home region, local officials also denounced what they called a coup against him and shut the air and sea ports of the south’s main city, Aden. | In the south of Yemen, Hadi’s home region, local officials also denounced what they called a coup against him and shut the air and sea ports of the south’s main city, Aden. |
| Yemen, an impoverished nation of 25 million, has been plagued by Islamist insurgency, separatist conflict, sectarian strife and economic crisis for years. An Arab spring-style popular uprising in 2011 led to the downfall of long-ruling president Ali Abdullah Saleh, bringing more chaos. | Yemen, an impoverished nation of 25 million, has been plagued by Islamist insurgency, separatist conflict, sectarian strife and economic crisis for years. An Arab spring-style popular uprising in 2011 led to the downfall of long-ruling president Ali Abdullah Saleh, bringing more chaos. |
| The Houthis, rebels from the north drawn from a large Shia minority that ruled a 1,000-year kingdom in Yemen until 1962, stormed into the capital in September but had mostly held back from directly challenging Hadi until last week, when they detained his chief of staff. | The Houthis, rebels from the north drawn from a large Shia minority that ruled a 1,000-year kingdom in Yemen until 1962, stormed into the capital in September but had mostly held back from directly challenging Hadi until last week, when they detained his chief of staff. |
| They accuse the president of seeking to bypass a power-sharing deal signed when they seized Sana’a in September, and say they are also working to protect state institutions from corrupt civil servants and officers trying to plunder state property. | They accuse the president of seeking to bypass a power-sharing deal signed when they seized Sana’a in September, and say they are also working to protect state institutions from corrupt civil servants and officers trying to plunder state property. |
| Houthi fighters battled guards at Hadi’s home and entered the presidential palace on Tuesday. In his televised speech that followed, the group’s leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, warned Hadi that he had to implement the power-sharing deal. | Houthi fighters battled guards at Hadi’s home and entered the presidential palace on Tuesday. In his televised speech that followed, the group’s leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, warned Hadi that he had to implement the power-sharing deal. |
| “We … will not hesitate to impose any necessary measures to implement the peace and partnership agreement,” said Abdel-Malek, whose Shia Muslim group is widely seen as an ally of Iran in its regional struggle for influence with Saudi Arabia. | |
| “All the options are open and without exception and the ceiling is very, very high. And this is why, I here advise the president [to] … Implement this deal. It is for your benefit and for the benefit of your people,” he said on live television. | |
| The accord gives the group, which takes its name from the family of its leader, a role in all military and civil state bodies. The Houthis also demand changes to the divisions of regional power in a draft constitution. | The accord gives the group, which takes its name from the family of its leader, a role in all military and civil state bodies. The Houthis also demand changes to the divisions of regional power in a draft constitution. |