Yemenis flee air strikes in the
port city of Aden earlier today. A coalition
of ten countries including the U.S. and led by Saudi
Arabia is intervening,
in the words of Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal,
to 'save Yemen.'
Houthis Warn Saudis
Not to Intervene in Yemen (Yemen Times, Yemen)
"'If he [President
Hadi] was a real president, he wouldn't seek the
support of foreign forces to crush his own people. His call for foreign
military intervention is a conspiracy against Yemen and proves Hadi is a traitor,' said Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti
of the Houthi Political Office … Iran has been accused
of backing the Houthis but the degree of cooperation between the two parties
remains unclear. When asked if military intervention by Saudi Arabia would lead
the Houthis to seek Iranian military support, Al-Bukhaiti
said, 'The Yemeni people are able to confront the challenges and defend
themselves without the support of any country.'"
SANA'A: Abdu RabuMansourHadi,
considered the country's legitimate president by the international community,
dispatched a letter on Tuesday to the U.N. Security Council asking
for military intervention against the Houthis.
"A Security Council resolution should invite willing
countries to immediately support Yemen's legitimate government by all means and
measures to protect Yemen and deter potential Houthi aggression
that could come at any time against Aden city," the letter reads.
The day before, Hadi requested
military intervention by the Peninsula Shield
Force, the joint military force of the Gulf Cooperation Council, according
to Foreign Affairs Minister Riyadh Yasin.
The Houthis have warned against military intervention in
Yemen. Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti of the Houthi Political Office told the Yemen Times that Hadi's call for foreign
military intervention reveals his intention to drive the country into civil
war.
"If he was a real president, he wouldn't seek the
support of foreign forces to crush his own people. His call for foreign
military intervention is a conspiracy against Yemen and proves Hadi is a traitor," said Al-Bukhaiti.
Mohammad Abdulsalam, official
spokesperson for the Houthi group, said in a phone
interview Monday with the Hezbullah-affiliated Al-Manar TV in Beirut that Saudi military
intervention in Yemen, through its support of terrorist groups in the south,
would amount to a repetition of the Libyan scenario.
"If Saudi Arabia wages a war on Yemen, it will open the
door to a war that it cannot control. Just leave us alone and we'll solve our
problems ourselves," Abdulsalam said.
On Monday, in response to Hadi's call for military assistance, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince
Saud Al-Faisal said at a press conference that his country would "take
necessary measures if needed" to protect Yemen's sovereignty.
Hadi's call for foreign military intervention
came after the Houthis took control of Taiz on March
22 and its subsequent expansion south toward Aden.
According to Al-Bukhaiti, Houthi fighters have been fighting al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP) in Al-Baida,
a northern governorate, and didn't previously plan to move south. However, he claimed
that AQAP's presence and the latest violence made it
imperative for them to expand, adding "any Saudi military intervention in
Yemen will not be for the good of Saudi Arabia."
Iran has been repeatedly accused of backing the Houthis but
the degree of cooperation between the two parties remains unclear. When asked
if military intervention by Saudi Arabia would lead the Houthis to seek Iranian
military support, Al-Bukhaiti said, "The Yemeni
people are able to confront the challenges and defend themselves without the
support of any country."
Abdulmalik Al-Fuhaidi,
editor-in-chief of Al-Motamar
Net, the mouthpiece of the General
People's Congress (GPC), also criticized Hadi's
call for foreign military intervention.
Saudis Launch
'Decisive Storm' to 'Save Yemen' (Al-Arabiya, United
Arab Emirates)
"It is shameful that Hadi
begs for support from foreign powers. Regardless of their differing affiliations,
Yemenis will reject any interference as it will bring more problems than
solutions," said Al-Fuhaidi. The head of the
GPC, former President Ali
Abdullah Saleh, is widely viewed as being allied
with the Houthis.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Unlike Al-Fuhaidi, Southern Movement
leader Nasser Al-Khubaji said military intervention
by the Peninsula Shield Force would be acceptable as long as it is to defend
the south. "Though we may have differences with President Hadi, we don't think it wrong to request military support
to protect our land," he said. [The Southern Movement seeks independence
for southern Yemen].
The U.N. Security Council emphasized Hadi's legitimacy on March 22, calling on all parties
and member states to "refrain from external interference that seeks to
foment conflict and instability and instead to support the political
transition." As of Wednesday evening, the UNSC
had yet to comment on Hadi's letter.
Abdulsalam Mohammad, head of Sana'a-based
think tank The Abad Center for Strategic Studies, said military intervention by
the UNSC and the GCC would
be limited to imposing no-fly zone zones and providing logistical support.
"Direct military intervention would be costly and I don't
expect that to happen. Stopping the influx of weapons to Yemen and freezing the
assets of former President Saleh would be better than
direct military intervention," said Mohammad.
