Fears of coup as Shi'ite rebels seize Yemen state media
2015-01-19 12:36:20.626 GMT
The Associated Press
(Haaretz) -- Rebel Shi'ite Houthis battled soldiers near Yemen's
presidential palace and elsewhere across the capital Monday, seizing control
of the country's state-run media in a move an official called "a step toward a
coup."
The fighting near the palace marks the biggest challenge yet to the
government of Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi by the Houthis, who
seized the capital, Sanaa, during their advance in September across parts of
Yemen. Many believe deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh, ousted in a deal
after Arab Spring protests, has orchestrated their campaign.
The battles saw the convoys of Yemen's prime minister and a top
presidential adviser affiliated with the Houthis come under fire, as well as
Houthi fighters take over Yemen state television and its official SABA news
agency, Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf said.
"This is a step toward a coup and it is targeting the state's
legitimacy," Sakkaf told The Associated Press.
The violence began early Monday, with witnesses saying heavy machine gun
fire could be heard as artillery shells fell around the presidential palace.
Civilians in the area fled as columns of black smoke rose over the palace. The
fighting caused a number of casualties as ambulance sirens wailed throughout
Sanaa.
"Oh God! There are bodies on street," well-known Yemeni activist Hisham
Al-Omeisy wrote on Twitter.
The Houthis' al-Maseera satellite television channel aired a report
accusing the army of opening fire without reason on a militia patrol in the
area of the presidential palace, sparking the violence. A Yemeni military
official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized
to brief journalists, said the Houthis provoked the attack by approaching
military positions in the area and setting up their own checkpoints.
Hadi doesn't live at the palace, but his home nearby quickly was
surrounded by additional soldiers and tanks amid sporadic gunfire, witnesses
said. Schools located near the clashes also closed as Houthi rebels manned
checkpoints throughout the city. Many families remained trapped in their
homes.
"People are leaving on foot, searching for safety," resident Tarfa
al-Moamani said.
Sakkaf later told the AP that Hadi reached a cease-fire with Houthi
rebels, though that apparently disintegrated into further gunfire. Prime
Minister Khaled Bahah's convoy also came under fire after leaving Hadi's home
for a meeting with a Houthi representative, Sakkaf said. It wasn't clear
whether Bahah was wounded.
Foreign ambassadors also appeared to be attempting to negotiate an end to
the fighting. "Working to promote cease-fire and political negotiations," a
message on British Ambassador Jane Marriott's Twitter account read.
"Challenging times. And all most Yemenis want is food and a job."
The spark of the latest spasm of violence appears to be rooted in the
Houthis' rejection of a draft constitution that divides the country into six
federal regions. On Saturday, the Houthis kidnapped one of Hadi's top aides to
disrupt a meeting scheduled for the same day that was to work on the new
constitution.
Monday's battle comes a day after Hadi chaired a meeting in which he
demanded the army defend Sanaa, SABA reported. It wasn't clear whether Hadi,
who has made similar calls in the past, was issuing a new order for security
services to take back control of Sanaa from the Houthis.
Hadi and Houthis accuse each other of not implementing a U.N.- brokered
peace deal calling for Hadi to form a new national unity government and reform
the country's government agencies as Houthis withdraw their fighters from
cities they seized. Houthis also demand integration of their militias into
Yemen's armed forces and security apparatus, something Hadi strongly opposes.
Houthis also accuse Hadi of financing and harboring al-Qaida militants.
Hadi's government says the Houthis use the accusation as an excuse to seize
more territory.
Hadi was elected as a president in 2012 after a popular revolt toppled
Saleh, who is a Zaydi, a branch of Shi'ite Islam that exists almost solely in
Yemen. Houthis, who are Zayidis, represent about 30 percent of Yemen's
population.
Saleh waged six-year-war against Houthis that ended in a cease-fire in
2010. Now, however, the old foes appear to have joined forces to challenge
Yemen's traditional power players, including top generals, tribal alliances
and the Islamist Islah party, the Muslim Brotherhood's branch in the country.
The U.N. Security Council last year put Saleh on a sanctions list, along
with two Shi'ite leaders, for destabilizing the country. Saleh's
representatives have denied the allegations.
Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss
intelligence matters, said they believed tribal fighters loyal to Saleh were
racing into Sanaa to back the Houthis in the fighting.
Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, is also home to al-Qaida in the
Arabian Peninsula, considered by the U.S. to be the most dangerous arm of the
terror group. That group has said it directed the recent attack against the
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris "as revenge for the honor" of
Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
The U.S. has carried out a campaign of drone strikes in the country
targeting suspected militants. Civilian casualties from those strikes have
angered Yemenis.
-0- Jan/19/2015 12:36 GMT
2015-01-19 12:36:20.626 GMT
The Associated Press
(Haaretz) -- Rebel Shi'ite Houthis battled soldiers near Yemen's
presidential palace and elsewhere across the capital Monday, seizing control
of the country's state-run media in a move an official called "a step toward a
coup."
The fighting near the palace marks the biggest challenge yet to the
government of Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi by the Houthis, who
seized the capital, Sanaa, during their advance in September across parts of
Yemen. Many believe deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh, ousted in a deal
after Arab Spring protests, has orchestrated their campaign.
The battles saw the convoys of Yemen's prime minister and a top
presidential adviser affiliated with the Houthis come under fire, as well as
Houthi fighters take over Yemen state television and its official SABA news
agency, Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf said.
"This is a step toward a coup and it is targeting the state's
legitimacy," Sakkaf told The Associated Press.
The violence began early Monday, with witnesses saying heavy machine gun
fire could be heard as artillery shells fell around the presidential palace.
Civilians in the area fled as columns of black smoke rose over the palace. The
fighting caused a number of casualties as ambulance sirens wailed throughout
Sanaa.
"Oh God! There are bodies on street," well-known Yemeni activist Hisham
Al-Omeisy wrote on Twitter.
The Houthis' al-Maseera satellite television channel aired a report
accusing the army of opening fire without reason on a militia patrol in the
area of the presidential palace, sparking the violence. A Yemeni military
official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized
to brief journalists, said the Houthis provoked the attack by approaching
military positions in the area and setting up their own checkpoints.
Hadi doesn't live at the palace, but his home nearby quickly was
surrounded by additional soldiers and tanks amid sporadic gunfire, witnesses
said. Schools located near the clashes also closed as Houthi rebels manned
checkpoints throughout the city. Many families remained trapped in their
homes.
"People are leaving on foot, searching for safety," resident Tarfa
al-Moamani said.
Sakkaf later told the AP that Hadi reached a cease-fire with Houthi
rebels, though that apparently disintegrated into further gunfire. Prime
Minister Khaled Bahah's convoy also came under fire after leaving Hadi's home
for a meeting with a Houthi representative, Sakkaf said. It wasn't clear
whether Bahah was wounded.
Foreign ambassadors also appeared to be attempting to negotiate an end to
the fighting. "Working to promote cease-fire and political negotiations," a
message on British Ambassador Jane Marriott's Twitter account read.
"Challenging times. And all most Yemenis want is food and a job."
The spark of the latest spasm of violence appears to be rooted in the
Houthis' rejection of a draft constitution that divides the country into six
federal regions. On Saturday, the Houthis kidnapped one of Hadi's top aides to
disrupt a meeting scheduled for the same day that was to work on the new
constitution.
Monday's battle comes a day after Hadi chaired a meeting in which he
demanded the army defend Sanaa, SABA reported. It wasn't clear whether Hadi,
who has made similar calls in the past, was issuing a new order for security
services to take back control of Sanaa from the Houthis.
Hadi and Houthis accuse each other of not implementing a U.N.- brokered
peace deal calling for Hadi to form a new national unity government and reform
the country's government agencies as Houthis withdraw their fighters from
cities they seized. Houthis also demand integration of their militias into
Yemen's armed forces and security apparatus, something Hadi strongly opposes.
Houthis also accuse Hadi of financing and harboring al-Qaida militants.
Hadi's government says the Houthis use the accusation as an excuse to seize
more territory.
Hadi was elected as a president in 2012 after a popular revolt toppled
Saleh, who is a Zaydi, a branch of Shi'ite Islam that exists almost solely in
Yemen. Houthis, who are Zayidis, represent about 30 percent of Yemen's
population.
Saleh waged six-year-war against Houthis that ended in a cease-fire in
2010. Now, however, the old foes appear to have joined forces to challenge
Yemen's traditional power players, including top generals, tribal alliances
and the Islamist Islah party, the Muslim Brotherhood's branch in the country.
The U.N. Security Council last year put Saleh on a sanctions list, along
with two Shi'ite leaders, for destabilizing the country. Saleh's
representatives have denied the allegations.
Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss
intelligence matters, said they believed tribal fighters loyal to Saleh were
racing into Sanaa to back the Houthis in the fighting.
Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, is also home to al-Qaida in the
Arabian Peninsula, considered by the U.S. to be the most dangerous arm of the
terror group. That group has said it directed the recent attack against the
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris "as revenge for the honor" of
Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
The U.S. has carried out a campaign of drone strikes in the country
targeting suspected militants. Civilian casualties from those strikes have
angered Yemenis.
-0- Jan/19/2015 12:36 GMT