Cheers for ex-president Saleh, jeers for the Houthis who tore Yemen apart

The break-up of the Saleh-Houthi alliance offers hope of resolving the civil war

Few people in Sanaa will shed a tear if the Houthis are swept out of Yemen. They have inflicted more than a year of terrible hardship and humiliation on the northern part of the country.

On Saturday the street and the markets echoed to the sound of cheers for the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and jeers for the Houthis.

The two were, until recently, allies.

In political terms, what is happening in Sanaa signifies a sudden collapse for the rebels, said Mohammed Al Nakeeb, a political analyst  working in the moral guidance department in the Yemeni army.

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Read more:

The end of the unholy alliance as Yemen's Saleh dumps the Houthis

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"The Houthi militias are shrinking so fast because they lost the support and the protection of the cordon of tribes north of Sanaa on which they relied. What is happening in Sanaa is a big change in the political equation and the beginning of a solution to the crisis in Yemen, especially in the north of the country.

"The coalition of the coup has gone and one of the two sides is going to disappear. According to results on the ground, the former president has superiority so far. Meanwhile the rebels are diminishing very fast, which means that Saleh will take control on Sanaa and the northern provinces and Iran and its proxies in the extreme north  are going to be kicked out," Mr Al Nakeeb said.

Smoke rises during the battle between former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh's supporters and the Houthi fighters in Sanaa, Yemen on December 2. Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

Houthi fighters man a checkpoint amid clashes between the Houthis and forces loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen. According to reports, at least 40 people died, including civilians, and dozens were wounded in the last few hours in Sanaa in the fighting between Houthi rebels and their allies, the forces loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yahya Arhab / EPA

Houthi fighters man an anti-aircraft gun in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on December 2, 2017, during clashes with supporters of Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. AFP

Houthi fighters man a checkpoint in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on December 2, 2017, during clashes with supporters of Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. AFP

An image grab taken from AFP TV on December 2, 2017 shows Houthi rebel fighters riding on the back of a pickup truck in the capital Sanaa. AFP

An image grab taken from AFP TV on December 2, 2017 shows Houthi rebel fighters walking down a street in the capital Sanaa. AFP

Political analyst Abdulkhalk Al Hood, editor-in-chief of the Al Mashhad Al Arabi news website, said the potential defeat of the Houthis in Sanaa was less crucial to the people in the southern part of Yemen.

"The southern territory  was liberated from the Houthis three years ago and has been  protected by the Resistance backed by the UAE," he said. " Nevertheless, the people in the south look at what is happening in Sanaa as a victory because the Houthi militia was an arm of Iran — which is  he enemy of all Yemenis, north and south, because Iran wants to revive sectarian doctrine.

"Southern Yemen is in partnership with the Arab coalition represented by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, because they came to liberate our country from Iran. So the people of Southern Yemen will stand by the forces of the  former president as they take over the militias because they are also getting rid of Iran."