By Brett Daniel Shehadey
Special Contributor for In Homeland Security
Shiite rebel fighters, known as Houthis, seized government buildings, military bases and media stations in Yemen’s capital city of Sana’a on Saturday. This included the Defense Ministry, the Central Bank and Iman University. The military witnessed dual loyalties with some splintering off and helping the Houthis. Interior Minister Hussein al—Terb along with other centers of power had asked the police to cooperate with the Houthis in order to maintain stability. The military was asked to remain at their posts and secure their weapons.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa was forced to resign. President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi announced that the Houthis agreed to an immediate cease-fire.
Yemen is unique in the Arab world, in that Shiites there make up a substantial part of the population. It is besieged by Shia and al Qaeda militants and has undergone almost a dozen civil wars. There remains a lack of a strong central authority after the Arab Spring in 2011 and the ousting of longtime strongman President Ali Abdullah Saleh, with the help of the U.S. arrangement.
The Houthis have come a long way since 2004 but their six-year insurgency officially ended in 2010 and the Arab Spring took over the show with the removal of President Saleh. The resurgence comes at a time when sectarian tensions are at an all-time high across the region; with the flash points being Syria and Iraq. The recent flare-up started weeks ago during protests that turned violent. At least 140 people have been killed and thousands more vacated their homes for the rally call of fuel subsidies, more representation in Sana’a and greater autonomy for the Saada province.
In the background, Yemen offers the Islamic Republic of Iran another front-row seat into the Arab world. The Arab states’ sectarian proxy war entrance bid in Syria to support Sunni jihadists there against the Assad regime they support, did not go well for them with the extremist [Sunni] Islamic State forming a caliphate and holding territory. This political coup in Yemen is likely belated victory for them to assert more influence among the Arab states. Three years again Bahrain, Saudi Arabia sent its own forces to quell a Shiite rebellion and stamp out a potential Iranian gateway.
While it is unlike a full coup, the Houthis have effectively forced the upper hand by storming the castle. The difference was the immediately agreed to cease-fire. Under the current UN brokered deal, a new government will be formed and a new prime minister will be nominated by the Houthis and southern separatists within three days, according to BBC. Lower fuel prices and more representation in government were also listed. In exchange, the Houthis are expected to turn over all government buildings and military installations they have seized.
It remains unclear whether the Houthi rebels will make good on the arrangement and withdraw and if the future means a fragmented state run by warlord militias around sectarian lines.
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