Houthis cannot rule all of Yemen

While they might have taken Sanaa by force, the minority rebels don’t have a mandate to run Yemen

Houthis at a gathering in Sanaa. Photo: Yaha Arhab / EPA

It comes as no surprise that the Houthi rebels have taken over the government in Yemen. That outcome was entirely predict­able, some would say from the moment the armed group took control of the capital Sanaa in September. Others might see the watershed moment as president Abradu Mansur Hadi’s resignation on January 22. Either way, it was inevitable that something would happen after the Houthis set an impossible deadline for an all-party political arrangement. It expired last Wednesday and the Houthis have dissolved parliament. The big question now is how do the Gulf nations – in particular Yemen’s large northern neighbour, Saudi Arabia – respond?

This is the first foreign policy challenge for Saudi Arabia’s new king and a difficult one at that. The situation in Yemen is untenable. The rebels, with the backing of Iran and members of former president Abdullah Saleh’s deposed regime, have announced the creation of a “supreme revolutionary committee”. It is supposed to rule for two years. Despite announcing that their move “will take Yemen to safe shores”, the Houthis appear to have no game plan, strategy or vision for the future. Houthi leaders are being disingenuous at best when they say that the new committee will be inclusive. More to the point, they are being foolishly optimistic if they think that controlling Sanaa by force means they have political control over the whole country. Their takeover may strengthen the southern separatist movement’s desire to secede and in the short term, it may suit the United States to cooperate with a Houthi-led government in attacking Al Qaeda in Yemen targets. But the current political arrangement in Sanaa, which disenfranchises so many Yemenis, is not in the interests of the country or the region.

Let’s be clear, the Houthis are a minority who have seized control with guns. If Yemen is to continue to exist as a cohesive state, which is in everybody’s interests, it must be ruled by a government that represents all its citizens. Iran must stop its meddling, while Yemen’s Gulf neighbours, and the wider world, must stand together to help the country achieve true political inclusivity and stability.