IN YEMEN: Heavy clashes between Houthis and government troops in Sana’a Ahlam Mohsen (author) Published on 19 January 2015 in News The Houthis took over a state news agency and a TV station during Monday’s clashes. The Houthis took over a state news agency and a TV station during Monday’s clashes. SANA’A, Jan. 19—Intense fighting broke out in Yemen’s capital Monday between security forces and the Houthis, threatening Yemen’s recently appointed Cabinet and the presidency itself. Heavily artillery and gunfire could be heard throughout the city Monday starting around 6:45 a.m., with intense fire surrounding numerous residential areas, including the Yemen Times building and Misbahi roundabout. Fighting lasted until the late afternoon with several short, sporadic lulls. Despite reports of heavy fire near the Presidential Palace, President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi called a meeting with his political advisors at 11:00 a.m. The president released no statement regarding Monday’s events. Information Minister Nadia Al-Sakkaf told the Yemen Times that Prime Minister Bahah’s convey came under heavy fire leaving the president’s residence, though the prime minister was unharmed. It took the prime minister two hours to reach home after leaving the palace, she said. The president is currently safe, according to Al-Sakkaf. Tensions had been mounting between the two sides, who signed a Peace and National Partnership Agreement on Sept. 21 following the Houthi takeover of Sana’a. The most recent clashes are the most intense since Sept. 21 and came two days after the Houthis kidnapped the president’s chief of staff, Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak. The chief of staff had pledged to move forward with a new constitution that would divide the country into six federal regions—a move opposed by the Houthis. Dividing the countries into two regions, as the Houthis are pushing for, would allow the group to better consolidate power over Yemen’s northern region. Late Monday even, Al-Sakkaf said the Houthis had met with the president to agree on terms to release Bin Mubarak. Al-Sakkaf said Bin Mubarak would be released in exchange for changes in the constitution and the National Authority for the Implementation of National Dialogue Conference (NDC) outcomes. Bin Mubarak is reportedly safe, though the information minister worried earlier in the day that he could become “collateral damage.” Al-Sakkaf claimed there were three parties involved in the fighting, and said the Republican Guards—along with Ahmed Ali Saleh—were assisting the Houthis in the fight against state security forces, and described the day’s activities as an attempted “coup”. It is unclear who fired first. The Houthis claim security forces fired on them following the deployment of more forces around the city. According to Hussein Al-Bukhaiti, a prominent Houthi activist based in Sana’a, a Houthi popular committee vehicle was on routine patrol down Sabaeen Street in the early hours of the morning when it was allegedly attacked by government troops. Shortly after, Al-Bukhaiti said, another Houthi patrol truck was attacked near Misbahi Roundabout, which caused fighting to break out. Al-Sakkaf said the president deployed the forces Sunday night in response to the Houthis’ kidnapping of Bin Mubarak on Saturday. The move was an effort to reaffirm the government’s authority. “He [President Hadi] said the government is the legitimate authority,” said Al-Sakkaf. As of publishing time, the Houthis had gained control of one of the two Nahdayn hills overseeing the Presidential Palace, giving the rebel group a stronger grip on power in a city where they have been the de-facto authority since Sept. 21. Al-Bukhaiti denied that the clashes were a coup attempt. “Houthis are in control of Sana’a and most of the north of Yemen. If [we] were after Hadi—who has offered to step down—[we] would just give him a phone call.” The group took over a state news agency and TV station. The Houthis took over state newspaper Al-Thawra in mid-December, and attacked the Yemen Today TV station when it first took the city in September. It also controls a number of state radio stations. The Houthis, a Zaidi Shia rebel group traditionally based in Sana’a’s northern governorate of Sa’ada, began to consolidate power in the north during the power vacuum that followed Yemen’s 2011 uprising, which saw the stepping down of Yemen’s 33-year president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. The group entered the capital in August, where they set-up camp and staged month-long protests, capitalizing on popular anger following the removal of fuel subsidies which were draining the country’s treasury. Following days of clashes, the Houthis took Sana’a on Sept. 21. The Houthis say they want the full implementation of the National Dialogue outcomes and the Peace and National Partnership Agreement, “without any tricks,” according to Al-Bukhaiti. The Peace and National Partnership Agreement stipulated that the Houthis would hand over power and withdraw their fighters from the capital following the establishment of a new government, which was sworn in Nov. 9. ============================================================================================================ Yemeni Troops Battle Shiite Rebels in Yemeni Capital SANAA, Yemen — Jan 19, 2015, 5:11 PM ET By AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press Associated Press Yemens U.S.-backed leadership came under serious threat Monday as government troops clashed with Shiite rebels near the presidential palace and a key military base in what one official called a step toward a coup. The militants seized control of state media in fierce fighting that marked the biggest challenge yet to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi by the rebels, known as Houthis, who swept down from their northern strongholds last year and captured the capital in September. The violence threatened to undermine efforts by the U.S. and its allies to battle al-Qaidas Yemeni affiliate, which claimed responsibility for the attack on a Paris satirical magazine this month and which Washington has long viewed as the global networks most dangerous branch. The Houthis and forces loyal to Hadi have been in a tense standoff for months and the two sides traded blame for the outbreak of violence Monday. Witnesses said heavy machine gun fire could be heard as artillery shells struck around the presidential palace. Civilians in the area fled as columns of black smoke rose over the palace and sirens wailed throughout the city. Hadi, whose government has ceded control over nearly the entire capital, doesnt live at the palace, and extra soldiers and tanks deployed around his private residence, which is nearby. As fighting escalated Monday, the convoys of Yemens prime minister and a top official affiliated with the Houthis came under fire, and rebel fighters took 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 states legitimacy, Sakkaf told The Associated Press. Cease-fire negotiations continued throughout the day by a presidential committee that included the interior and defense ministers, a presidential aide and a tribal sheik close to the Houthis. By the end of the day, a tenuous truce appeared to be holding. The announcement of a cease-fire came after witnesses said the rebels had seized control of strategic hills that overlook both the palace and the military camp south of it. There was no government confirmation of the loss of territory. At least nine people were killed in the fighting and 67 were injured, Yemens deputy health minister, Nasser Baoum, told the AP. Yemens Western and international allies, including the U.S and Saudi Arabia, called for steps to implement and consolidate the cease-fire, expressing their support for Hadi. We reject the use of violence by those who seek to overturn Yemens political transition for their own interests, and fully support President Hadi as the legitimately-mandated president, a statement on the U.S. Embassy website said. The Houthis blamed Hadi for the escalation in hostilities, saying he reneged on a U.N.-sponsored agreement with the group in September that promised better representation on a committee to oversee the drafting of a new constitution. According to the agreement, Hadi was to appoint new members within 15 days to the 85-member national committee. Hisham Al-Omeisy, a Yemeni activist who lives near the presidential palace, said the fighting began just after 6 a.m., with a shell hitting a hill controlled by the Houthis. The militants responded with heavy artillery fire, he said. Al-Omeisy said he saw two bodies in civilian clothes just outside his house, but couldnt tell if the dead were civilians or Houthis, who do not wear uniforms. ============================================================================================================ Yemen crisis: Truce takes effect in Sanaa after clashes Houthi fighters fire at Presidential Guard soldiers in Sanaa, Yemen (19 January 2015) The rebels claimed to have seized a military base on a hill overlooking the presidential palace Yemen unrest Who are the Houthis? Uncertain path Fragile peace Fears of war A ceasefire has taken effect in Yemens capital, Sanaa, after hours of fierce clashes between the Presidential Guard and Shia Houthi rebels, officials say. Interior Minister Jalal al-Roweishan said the government and the Houthis had set up committees to monitor the truce, which began at 16:30 (13:30 GMT). People living near the presidential palace said gunfire had subsided. At least three people were killed in the most intense clashes in Sanaa since the rebels overran it in September. Under an agreement with President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, the Houthis pledged to withdraw from the capital once a new unity government was formed. However, the rebels are still deployed throughout the city and have taken control of several Sunni central and western parts of the country. Step toward a coup On Monday morning, columns of black smoke rose from streets around the presidential palace and a military area south of it, as soldiers from the Presidential Guard and Houthi fighters fired heavy machine-guns, rocket-propelled grenades and artillery shells at each others positions. Yemeni soldiers block streets around the presidential palace in Sanaa (19 January 2015) Soldiers blocked roads leading to the palace after the clashes erupted early on Monday A Presidential Guard Humvee deployed outside the residence of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in Sanaa (19 January 2015) Troops were also deployed outside the official residence of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi An armoured vehicle belonging to Houthi rebels in Yemen is positioned on a street near the presidential palace in Sanaa (19 January 2015) The Houthis positioned their own armoured vehicles and artillery in response Information Minister Nadia al-Sakkaf told reporters that Prime Minister Khaled Balahs motorcade was later shot at after he left a meeting with the president and a Houthi representative at President Hadis official residence. The convoy of the Houthi representative - believed to be the presidents political adviser, Saleh al-Sammad - also came under fire, she added. Ms Sakkaf said the Houthis had taken control of the state-run Republic of Yemen Television network and the official news agency, Saba, and were refusing to publish any government statements. This is a step toward a coup and it is targeting the states legitimacy, she told the Associated Press. The Houthis also claimed they had taken control of an army base on a hill overlooking the palace. Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi (file) President Hadi was safe after an attempted coup, Yemens information minister said Witnesses told the AFP news agency that the fighting erupted early on Monday after rebel reinforcements were deployed near the presidential palace. The Presidential Guard then sent troops onto the streets surrounding the palace and Mr Hadis residence, they added. The Houthis TV channel, al-Maseera, said the clashes erupted after troops fired on one of their patrols, while military officials accused the rebels of provoking the attack. Reports of a ceasefire being agreed emerged throughout the morning, but it was not until mid-afternoon that the fighting tailed off. At the same time, Mr Roweishan told Saba that a meeting of representatives from both sides, including Mr Sammad and the defence and interior ministers, had agreed to a truce. Abduction Tensions between the government and the Houthis, which were already running high, escalated when rebels abducted the presidents chief of staff on Saturday. The rebels said they seized Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak to disrupt a meeting he was to attend that day on the draft constitution, which they oppose, and to prevent Septembers peace deal from being broken. Map showing Saada in Yemen The Houthis, who adhere to a branch of Shia Islam known as Zaidism, have staged periodic uprisings since 2004 in an effort to win greater autonomy for their northern heartland of Saada province. They consolidated their control over Saada during the 2011 uprising that forced long-time President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Since July the rebels have inflicted defeats on tribal and militia groups backed by the leading Sunni Islamist party, Islah, and battled jihadist militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has vowed to defend the countrys Sunni community. Opponents allege that the rebels ultimately hope to reinstall the Zaidi imamate, which ruled North Yemen for almost 1,000 years until 1962. SOURCE: bbc/news/world-middle-east-30875883
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 00:07:00 +0000
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