Tens of thousands in Yemen Shiite protest

[Ars Moriendi]

Sanaa has been been hit today pretty hard by large protests linked to the Houthis group.
Here's a basic summary:

Spoiler!

Tens of thousands in Yemen Shiite protest

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Mid...e-protest.ashx


Followers of the Shi'ite Houthi group march during a demonstration to denounce fuel price hikes and to demand for the resignation of the government in Sanaa August 18, 2014. Yemen raised fuel prices last month as the impoverished country tries to cut energy subsidies to ease the burden on its budget deficit. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ENERGY)

SANAA: Tens of thousands of people joined an anti-government rally in Sanaa Monday in response to a call by Shiite rebel commander Abdel-alik al-Houthi, an AFP journalist reported.

The protesters assembled in Change Square then paraded in the center of the capital, where supporters of the rebels, who are known as Huthis or Ansarullah, had converged during the morning after travelling from outside the capital.

A tight security cordon was thrown up around Sanaa, with increased security along the main roads, though no incidents had been reported by the middle of the day.

The demonstrators chanted slogans against the government, which has struggled to manage the political transition since the ouster in 2012 of veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

They also protested against a petrol tax increase brought in at the end of July.

In a speech on Sunday night, Houthi called on his followers to march on Sanaa and demand "the fall of the government, which has failed."

He gave the government a deadline of Friday to meet the protesters' grievances.

Otherwise, additional forms of "legitimate action" would take place, Houthi warned.

In the coming days, "we will erect tents, carry out sit-ins and organize marches" in Sanaa, the rebel leader said, threatening to respond to any provocation.

"We won't stand with folded arms in the face of crime," he said.

Houthis, who have been battling the central government for years, repeatedly complained of marginalization under Saleh, who ruled for 33 years.

Ansarullah activists had demonstrated in early August against the near-doubling of petrol prices as well as seeking the government's overthrow.

A World Bank study in 2012 found that 54 percent of Yemenis live below the poverty threshold.

Ansarullah controls Saada province in northern Yemen and is suspected of wanting to broaden its sphere of influence in a future federal state, potentially comprising six provinces.

Houthi forces reached just outside Sanaa in July when they took the city of Amran, though they later agreed to withdraw.

The leader of the Houthis:


During a televised speech broadcast by Almaseera television channel on Sunday, Al-Houthi [Pictured above] reportedly gave an ultimatum to the Yemeni authorities to dismiss the government by next Friday, warning that otherwise he will escalate to other options that he did not specify.
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Background of the Houthis (Copied from the Middle East Monitor):

The Houthis are a Zaidi Shia insurgent group established in 1992 by Hussein Badr Al-Houthi, who was killed by government forces in mid 2004. This led to six wars between the group stationed in the Saada province and government forces, leaving thousands dead on both sides. The group is viewed as an extension of the Yemeni monarchy, which was present in the north of Yemen before the revolution of 26 September 1962, which unseated the ruling Zaidi Imam. Houthis say that they have suffered from discrimination ever since.
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[Ars Moriendi]

The call to insurrection by the Houthis comes at a point where the combats they hold in the northernmost provinces has been escalating again, following a brief pause after they returned the city of Amran (they had captured it in July).

A press release 4 days ago had already reported the fall in mediation in the province of Al Jawf.

Spoiler!

Mediation fails after three most violent clashes in Al-Jawf between Houthis and tribes

http://www.yemenpost.net/Detail12345...D=3&SubID=8095


The Presidential Mediation Commission (PMC) in Al-Jawf province announced today to pull back from its mandate for the cease-fire agreement between Al-Jawf tribal militants and Houthi fighter due to the Houthi's breach of the Cease-fire agreement by showing reluctant and intransigence to implement the terms of the agreement, a member of the commission.

Despite a solution in order to bring both parties together and handing over their weapons as an act of good faith to cease fire, the commission was surprised by missiles, grenades and intensive gunfire close to them heading form an area controlled by Houthis forced the commission to withdrew immediately, the same source continued.

Until Wednesday evening, the war reel between Houthi militias and the forces of the army backed up by tribes of the Directorate of Ghail in al-Jawf province north of Yemen has been rolling over and over claiming the lives of dozens from both parties, under the appeals of the state to intervene, in particular, when Houthis breached the cease-fire agreement three days earlier.The ceasefire agreements reached with government intervention on 2nd August though PMC have repeatedly failed to stop the conflict between the two sides.

According to tribal sources, fighting erupted in the northeastern province of al-Jawf on Monday and stopped in the same evening, and then broke out again the next morning and still ongoing as of this writing reportedly with both sides using heavy weaponry including tanks that were previously captured from the army.

At least 30 armed Houthis were killed and many were injured.

24 hours ago, it was also confirmed that a minimum of 15 tribesmen had already died due to this combats, with no specific mention regarding Houthi casualties.

Spoiler!

15 Yemen tribesmen killed in clashes with Houthis
17 August 2014

At least 15 Yemeni tribesmen were killed over Friday and Saturday in clashes with Shia Houthi militants in the northeast of the country, an official source said.

"Dozens were killed in clashes between the Houthi militants and tribesmen in Al-Safraa area on the border between Al-Jawf and Maarib provinces," the source told Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity.

"At least 15 tribesmen were among the deaths," he added.

Clashes are still raging in the region, but casualties are yet to be determined, the source said.

Earlier in the day, a tribal source said that President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi ordered the reassignment of a committee formed to mediate a ceasefire in the northern Al-Jawf province between the army and allied tribes on one hand and Shia Houthi militants on the other.

The committee would try to mediate a ceasefire and enforce an earlier truce deal that was signed earlier this month between the warring rivals in the region, he added.

Clashes flared up again in the restive province on Friday, one day after the mediation committee declared failure to consolidate the ceasefire and withdrew from the disputed areas.

Committee member Mohamed Daraan blamed the Houthi group for the deadlock, saying it “repeatedly stalled a deal.”

Clashes first erupted in Al-Jawf between Houthis and local tribesmen in April, resulting in casualties on both sides.

A few weeks ago, the mediation committee succeeded in forging a temporary ceasefire, but this proved short-lived.

Al-Jawf is strategically important in that it is located near Yemen's eastern Maarib province, the center of the country's oil production.

Yemen has been dogged by turmoil since pro-democracy protests forced autocratic president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in 2012 after 33 years in power.

By Mohamed al-Samei

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All this problematic in the North is simultaneous to continuing combats in the South between government security forces and Aqap (Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsulae).
A very brief release a few hours ago confirmed some arrests:

Spoiler!

Yemen: Fight against Al-Qaeda continues as Houthis call for protests

http://www.aawsat.net/2014/08/article55335594

Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Clashes continued between the military and Al-Qaeda insurgents in Yemen’s southern Hadhramaut governorate over the weekend, as Houthi rebels called for public demonstrations against the government.

The Yemeni security forces have launched a campaign to regain control of the province in recent weeks, after it became clear that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had been able to take control of large swaths of the area.

A Yemeni military source said several members of Al-Qaeda had been killed in a military operation in the town of Al-Qatn, in the Hadhramaut governorate, on Sunday.

The source said: “The army attacked a terrorist group in Al-Qatn and killed four terrorists and arrested five others.” He added that one soldier was killed and five were injured in the operation.

Ironically, all of this is taking place the exact same day that an UN committee is supposed to arrive to Sanaa to verify on the progress of the supposed democratic reforms and political transition.

The outcome is pretty hard to predict, but if anything, I've noted that media outlets close to the current government has already begun denouncing the Houthi pressure as an attempt to replicate the Iranian Revolution in Yemen. Hyperbolic, yes, but worth considering at least as a reference.

Food for thought.

Any comments or additional information you'd like to post is welcomed.

[Yehiel]

yemen has such a rich ancient history sad it turned to this

[Ars Moriendi]

yemen has such a rich ancient history sad it turned to this

Personally I had no idea the Houthis were related to the pre 1962 coup. Most of my knowledge of recent history of Yemen is related to the South vs North cold war rivalry, and Saleh's role supporing NATO in the Red Sea.
I feel like it would be useful to study more their origins and understand the country's situation better.

[Ars Moriendi]

This might be slightly outdated, but here's a 2012 map of the situation in Yemen:



It's interesting how historical borders overlap. The government + Houthi area is almost exactly the same territory of the former Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen), while AQAP's control is almost entirely over territories that were once part of South Yemen.

[Wadaad]

Houthis are Iranian agents...All Shias are loyal to Iran first, whether zaidi, twelver, ismaili, it doesnt matter

[Ars Moriendi]

Houthis are Iranian agents...All Shias are loyal to Iran first, whether zaidi, twelver, ismaili, it doesnt matter

Back when the Yemeni Kingdom existed betwen 1918 and 1962, was it then allied with Qajar and then Pahlavi Persia/Iran?

[Xanthias]

Good thing, they must annihilate the sunni scum.

[Wadaad]

Back when the Yemeni Kingdom existed betwen 1918 and 1962, was it then allied with Qajar and then Pahlavi Persia/Iran?

Not so sure since Pahlavis werent exporting Shiism...but definitely since 1979

[Ars Moriendi]

Good thing, they must annihilate the sunni scum.

As far as I can tell. The goal is to get a government friendly to Houthis who would agree with a federative system, which in turn would mean Zaydis get more autonomy in the northern provinces.

With latest census, the majority of the population in Yemen is Sunni (I'm not sure what % would be if we only considered former Northern Yemen provinces), so it's nigh impossible for any sort of ethnic cleansing to take place, like you suggest.