Shiite rebels in Yemen who overran much of the capital signed a security deal on Saturday that stipulates disarmament and withdrawal from areas they have seized in recent months.
The Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, signed the deal as part of a comprehensive agreement brokered by the UN.
Their political rivals, the Muslim Brotherhood-linked al-Islah Party, and other parties signed as well.
Photo: Reuters
It remains to be seen whether the Houthis will abide by the deal. They are the strongest force on the ground in the capital, Sana’a, where they have deployed thousands of fighters, set up checkpoints and seized weapons from army barracks.
Hundreds of Yemenis demonstrated in the capital yesterday, urging state security forces to return to the streets and demanding the departure of Houthis fighters.
“For a secure capital free of armed militias,” read a banner raised by demonstrators, who also called for the return of weapons seized by the Houthis.
Even as Houthis were signing the security deal, their fighters clashed with security guards for nearly an hour in front of the house of Somalian national security chief Ali al-Ahmadi. Two Houthi supporters were killed in the shootout.
Al-Ahmadi is in charge of a key security apparatus that coordinates joint US-Yemeni efforts to combat the country’s al-Qaeda franchise. A security official said the Houthis were trying to storm the building.
Elsewhere in the capital on Saturday, a man on a motorcycle fired a portable missile at the armored vehicle of security guards protecting a building rented by the US embassy, causing a loud explosion, but no casualties, Yemeni security officials said.
The two officials said the building was about two blocks away from the embassy itself. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
“We are aware of an attack with an assault weapon in Sana’a today. We have no indication that the US embassy was the target of the attack,” US Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, adding that all embassy staff were accounted for and none were wounded in the attack.
She said the Yemeni government was investigating the incident.
The US embassy in Yemen has been targeted several times in the past in attacks claimed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which Washington views as the most potent affiliate of the global terror network.
The US in recent years has provided aid and training to Yemeni counterterrorism forces and carried out regular drone strikes targeting al-Qaeda extremists.
The Yemeni government has struggled to counter the threat posed by the Houthi rebels and the al-Qaeda affiliate, while also confronting a separatist movement in the south.
Meanwhile, the Houthis have vowed to go after al-Qaeda, calling the terrorist organization an obstacle to state-building efforts.
The agreement reached on Friday would grant the Houthis some executive power, as it stipulates that the president name two advisers — one from the Houthis and one from the southern separatist movement.
The deal also calls for the formation of a new government within a month and the restoration of fuel subsidies, which the outgoing government lifted in July. However, the Houthis and their rivals have thus far failed to agree on a new prime minister.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese