Words alone will not stop Houthis

The Arab League did not go far enough in its demands of the Yemeni militant group

Army and police officers loyal to the Houthi movement shout slogans as they take part in a demonstration to show support to the movement in Sanaa last month. Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

The Arab League has been denouncing the “coup” in Yemen ever since the government in Sanaa was pushed aside. What it has not done – and what it did not do on Wednesday at an emergency meeting – is offer anything except forceful words.

Ever since Shia rebels from Yemen’s north overran the capital in September, Arab countries have worried about the ambitions of the Houthis – especially as the group has received financial support (and perhaps even weapons) from Iran. These fears crystallised at the start of this month when the Houthis pushed the government to resign and placed the president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi under house arrest.

The GCC – which brokered the initiative that saw long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh leave power – has been the most vocal about the dangers posed by the Shia group. Last week, before the United Nations Security Council discussed the issue, the GCC urged action to be taken under Chapter 7 of the UN’s Charter, which would have allowed the use of force or military intervention.

Yet despite warnings from the UN secretary-general that “Yemen is collapsing before our eyes”, the eventual resolution merely demanded an unconditional withdrawal by the Houthis. The Arab League meeting had a similar result: no threat of force, merely a call for the Houthis to release Mr Hadi and return government weapons.

This would be understandable if the Houthis were a group with which negotiations were feasible. Yet from the start of their expansion from the north towards Sanaa, they have cloaked themselves in the language of politics while expanding by military means. In January, they demanded a power sharing deal with the government and an amendment to the draft constitution. Mr Hadi agreed. The response from the Houthis was to flood the streets of the capital with fighters, take over the institutions of state and arrest Mr Hadi.

The Houthis are not a normal political group. They have sought to expand through violence and intimidation. Mere words will not stop them.