The Shi’ite rebel group that controls the Yemeni capital dissolved parliament on Wednesday, bringing to an abrupt and potentially explosive end the political deadlock among rival factions.
The Houthi movement, which overran Sana’a in September, had been overseeing talks to form a new government since the group’s aggression prompted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to resign last month. But with the lapse of a Wednesday deadline, the Houthis moved to act on their own terms.
In a televised statement, the rebels said they would form a five-member presidential council to lead the country during a transitional period of up to two years, proclaiming the developments marked “a new era that will take Yemen to safe shores,” according to the Associated Press.
But the move threatens to plunge the fractured nation deeper into sectarian turmoil. While the Houthis, members of a minority group of Shi‘ite Muslims from the north, have seen a recent surge in support, their power grab risks further alienating Sunni tribesman and empowering al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the powerful affiliate of al-Qaeda that controls swathes of the country’s south.
Yemen’s Tumultuous History in 12 Pictures
In 1962, a coup ousted the monarchy ruling North Yemen and spawned a devastating civil war between the newly established Yemen Arab Republic and royalist forces. The conflict, which drew Egypt in on the side of the republicans against the Saudi-backed royalists, lasted through the end of the decadeGery Gerard—Paris Match/Getty ImagesAs conflict raged in the north, leftist groups in the south began to push for independence from Britain, which had controlled the port city of Aden and its surroundings since the mid-19th century. A grenade attack on British officers in December 1963 marked the beginning of an insurgency against the British known as the Aden EmergencyTerry Fincher—Getty ImagesUnder siege from pro-independence groups, the British agreed to a transfer of power and withdrew in 1967, paving the way for the communist-run People’s Republic of South YemenAPNorth and South Yemen finally overcame internal turmoil and occasional border clashes to agree on a unity deal in 1989. The merger the following year established the Republic of Yemen under the North’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh (right), who would remain in power until 2012 .Thomas Hartwell—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesPeace between both sides would not hold. In 1993, Vice President al-Bayd left Sana’a for Aden in the south, and by the following year the two sides’ armed forces, which had yet to be merged, were at war. The North eventually defeated southern forces, restoring calm after months of violence that left thousands deadLaurent Van Der Stockt—Getty ImagesA suicide bomb attack on the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen killed 17 U.S. sailors on Oct. 12, 2000, and was claimed by Al-Qaeda. Despite President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s pledge to support America's fight on terrorism, the group would eventually gain a strong foothold in the country. Today, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is one of the terror network's most powerful affiliates and controls swathes of territory in southern YemenU.S. Navy—Getty ImagesLarge-scale anti-government protests broke out in Jan. 2011 across the country in the wake of the ouster of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, eventually prompting President Ali Abdullah Saleh to declare that he would not run for reelection in 2013ReutersSnowballing demonstrations turned deadly on March 18, 2011 when unidentified gunmen opened fire on protesters, killing roughly 50 people. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, denying the attackers were government forces, declared a state of emergency, heralding a new, more violent phase in the protests that devolved at times into tribal clashesMuhammed Muheisen—APAn explosion at the presidential palace on June 3, 2011, badly burned President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who left for Saudi Arabia for treatment but, to the dismay of opposition activists, returned to Sana'a in September Muhammed Muheisen—APThe embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh resigned on Feb. 27, 2012, after agreeing to an internationally-brokered deal to transition power to his deputy Abd-Rabbo Mansour HadiHani Mohammed—APThe Houthis, an insurgency comprising members of the Shi’ite Zaidi minority, took control of Sana'a on Sept. 21, 2014, after years of clashes with government forces in the north. The group, which allowed President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi to remain at his post, gained wider traction as self-proclaimed reformers, capitalizing on dissatisfaction with the poor economic and security situations under Hadi’s U.S.-backed governmentMohammed Hamoud—Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesPresident Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi submitted his resignation on Jan. 22 after negotiations on a power-sharing agreement with the Houthis appeared to fall through, leaving the fate of the country unclearEPA
For years, the U.S. has struck at AQAP in Yemen with drones and Special Ops, but it has also invested in the Yemeni government to help repel AQAP on the ground, pouring nearly $1 billion of economic, military and humanitarian aid into the country since 2011. That strategy has been hailed as a success by President Barack Obama and was used as a blueprint for the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). But as the government has focused on the Houthi rebellion, AQAP has regained a foothold in southern Yemen. U.S. officials now fear that a prolonged power vacuum in Sana‘a could give AQAP free rein to grow—and to pose new threats to the West.
The Houthis, though, are no friends of the Sunni al-Qaeda militants. The group, which is believed to be backed by the Shi‘ite leadership of Iran, has clashed with al-Qaeda in Yemen and criticized Hadi’s failure to quash Sunni extremism. The problem for the U.S.’s counterterrorism operations is that it also has no interest in an alliance with the U.S.; it has been equally critical of Hadi’s dependence on U.S. support, and it’s motto reads in part, “Death to Israel, Death to America.”
So far, Washington appears to be adapting to developments in Sana’a. A drone strike on Jan. 31 killed a top al-Qaeda cleric, and a senior U.S. official indicated the U.S. maintains intelligence ties with the Houthis. But whether the Houthis can maintain stability and prevent a prolonged sectarian conflict remains to be seen.
