The Houthis must leave Sanaa city

The Iran-backed militia is holding Yemen hostage. The GCC has made clear it will not allow that

The Houthi rebels have taken their war against the Yemeni government from the mountains of the north to the city of Sanaa. Yahya Arhab / EPA

Whatever it is that the Houthi rebels are planning in Yemen, it is certainly not going to be for the benefit of all Yemenis, or the GCC. That is the unmistakable impression of the past few weeks, as the Houthi rebels have taken their war against the Yemeni government from the mountains of the north to the city of Sanaa.

It is also the unmistakable impression of the whole region. This week, interior ministers from the six GCC nations held an emergency meeting in Jeddah to discuss the crisis. Their statement was unequivocal: “Yemen’s security and the security of the GCC states are one and the same.”

To understand what is happening in Sanaa and why the GCC is so concerned, look at the events in Yemen from the perspective of the Gulf. Yemen is the only non-GCC country on the Arabian Peninsula; it is also the largest by population. It shares long borders with both Saudi Arabia and Oman. Now armed rebels, backed by Iran, have taken over parts of the capital and the national army, still riven by divisions since the 2011 revolution, have not stopped them.

Iran, of course, denies any involvement with the Houthi rebels, but such protestations are hollow. The rebels have acquired advanced weaponry that Hizbollah also has. In the past week, five high-level prisoners have been released: three of them suspected members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and two of them suspected members of Hizbollah.

The GCC cannot accept such interference in its backyard. Indeed, the rebels’ stronghold is in the far north-west of Yemen, right on the border with Saudi. Riyadh could not accept such interference even if the Houthis appeared sincere in wanting a better transition for all Yemenis. But the evidence suggests the Houthis only seek their own power.

Since they arrived in the capital, the armed Houthi rebels have demanded the return of fuel subsidies. But when the government agreed, even that was not sufficient. A further agreement, signed last week, to include the Houthis in a new government should have meant the rebels left the capital. Instead they have tightened their grip.

The GCC is understandably distracted by events in Syria. ISIL is a clear threat to the region. But what the Houthi rebels are doing in Yemen’s capital is equally threatening to the stability and security of the whole GCC.