Seven were killed and dozens wounded in the second confrontation in less than two days between the Houthis and Yemeni security forces amid talk of Saudi support for Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the army in exchange for declaring war on the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (supporters of God).
Sanaa – The situation in Yemen is a ticking time bomb. Yemeni parties have their finger on the trigger and are ready for a gruesome war between President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and his allies on one hand and Ansar Allah on the other, especially since this is the second time in two days that Houthis have been killed by security forces.
At least seven people were killed yesterday, dozens were wounded and many more choked on tear gas as security forces and the army were trying to clear a sit-in by Houthis outside the government building in the center of Sanaa.
This sudden escalation, which has led to casualties and injuries, is going to exacerbate the stand off between the two sides. It could also adversely affect the progress of the negotiations that Ansar Allah leader, Abdel Malik al-Houthi, talked about in his speech Monday night. These developments came after President Hadi warned the Houthis during the supreme security committee meeting against any escalations, including disturbing the public peace and undermining stability in the capital, its surroundings and all the regions of the country.
Yesterday morning, protesters went to the government building in response to a call by Abdel Malik al-Houthi to his supporters and all Yemenis to rally in Taghyeer (Change) Square near the government building, Radio Sanaa and several state institutions such as the parliament and the Civil Service Ministry to step up their protests. In response to this call, demonstrators tried to set up sit-in tents in the square in front of the government building. But anti-riot forces affiliated with the Fourth Brigade prevented protesters from setting up their tents inside the security zone leading to dozens of deaths and injuries among the Houthis.
The Yemeni government, through the supreme security committee headed by President Hadi, and the Houthis exchanged accusations regarding yesterday’s escalation. The committee held Houthi rebels responsible for the incitement and the attempt to storm the government building and the Radio Sanaa headquarters by prompting many of its supporters to break into the two buildings.
A statement by the committee broadcast by the Yemeni news agency said that “the attempt to storm the two buildings led to many casualties among the security forces protecting the government building and Radio Sanaa and those attempting to break into the buildings due to shots fired by a number of people around the radio station and the government and by those trying to storm the buildings. The security agencies are trying to look for and pursue the latter in an attempt to arrest them and hand them over to the relevant authorities.”
According to the statement: “The forces protecting the government and Radio Sanaa did not fire against those trying to storm the cabinet. The Houthi leadership is responsible for inciting its supporters to storm public facilities and institutions and for the subsequent losses in life as well as damages to public and private property.
The Houthi position was expressed by the group’s official spokesperson Mohammed Abdel Salam. It focused on the government’s attempt to impose on the people choices other than the peaceful, popular option “by cracking down on peaceful protests, first at the airport road and now in front of the government building.”
Abdel Salam added in a statement that was published on Ansar Allah’s website: “The Yemeni people have demonstrated in their peaceful revolution their attempt to exert pressure on the authorities to respond to their just and rightful demands.” He argued that the authorities want the people to come to the conclusion that the peaceful option is not acceptable and is not on the table and that peaceful protests and civilized forms of expressing their will are not acceptable or useful in correcting the situation.
Abdel Salam stressed that live ammunition and killing are not going to dissuade the people from holding on to their demands. On the contrary, they are going to be more adamant about their demands. He called on all “honorable and free people to condemn the violent response to the peaceful and civilized ways of protesting.”
Many people believe that what happened to protesters yesterday in front of the government building is a repeat of the scenario that demonstrators faced during the February 11 Revolution in 2011. It is proof that the current government which came to power as a result of this revolution is adopting the same methods of the previous regime. Some believe that the government’s decision to resort to violence in confronting protesters came after President Hadi received many Saudi promises to support the Yemeni army if the president decides to declare war against Ansar Allah. Saudi Arabia fears an ascension to power in Yemen by the Houthis whom it accuses of being one of Iran’s tools in the region.
There is no doubt that the next few hours are going to witness major developments that will determine the progress of the situation in Yemen, especially as the military conflict between the Houthis and the army has been ignited in the Haziz area south of the capital Sanaa. Eyewitnesses there reported heightening tensions as limited clashes broke out and reinforcements continued to arrive for both sides. New army posts were established as Houthi rebels took position in one of the schools in the area across from the leadership of the reserve forces camp in al-Sawda area, considered one of the largest and most important army camps south of the capital.
Thousands of Houthi rebels are in camps surrounding the capital and at the entrances of the city from four sides. They are threatening to shut the roads leading to the capital if fellow Houthis participating in the sit-in in Sanaa come under attack by government forces.
In a matter related to the incident in front of the government building, media sources said that Yemeni interior minister, Abdo Hussein al-Turb, issued a ministerial decision to sack the director general of the Sanaa police force due to the killing of protesters in front of the government building. This was the second decision to dismiss a security official as a result of attacks against protesters demanding toppling the government, annulling a decision to raise fuel prices and implementing the outcomes of the national dialogue. President Hadi had sacked the special forces commander, General Fadl al-Qawsi, after his forces attacked a camp for the Houthis on the road to the airport north of the capital, killing two people and wounding dozens more.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
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