Yemen 'collapsing before our eyes': UN chief
The UN chief has called on the Security Council to take action to halt Yemen's slide toward anarchy, as al-Qaeda-linked militants overran an army camp in the country’s volatile southern province of Shabwa.
“Let me be clear: Yemen is collapsing before our eyes. We cannot stand by and watch,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the 15-member council on Thursday.
Ban added that he is focused on “preventing civil war in Yemen.”
He also stated that President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi and his prime minister must be allowed freedom of movement following their house arrest by Shia Houthi fighters.
Last week, Ban called for Hadi to be reinstated as president, following the formation of a transitional council.
Embassy closures in Yemen
The United States, Britain and France have temporarily closed their embassies over what they called security concerns in the Arab country. The Western states have also urged their citizens to leave the country.
Over the past months, al-Qaeda militants have frequently carried out attacks on Yemen’s security forces. The militants have been also engaged in battles with the Ansarullah revolutionary fighters of the Houthi movement.
Last week, the Houthi movement dissolved the parliament, following weeks of clashes with government forces.
Yemen’s political deadlock
The Ansarullah movement gained control of the capital in September 2014, following a four-day battle with army forces loyal to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the half-brother of the country’s former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The revolutionaries say the Yemeni government has been incapable of properly running the affairs of the country and providing security.
Before gaining control of the capital, Ansarullah had set a deadline for the political parties to put aside differences and fill the power vacuum, but the deadline was missed without any change in the political scene of the country.
Ansarullah announced a constitutional declaration on the Transitional National Council, which is expected to replace the country’s parliament.
The declaration added that the Transitional National Council will be set up to elect the presidential council in a bid to end the country’s political deadlock.
GMA/KA/SS
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