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Shiite rebels take power in Yemen, fan fears of civil war |
SANAA, (Yemen):Yemen s Shiite rebels proclaimed a formal takeover of the Arab nation Friday, dissolving parliament in a dramatic move that completes their power grab in the region s poorest nation where an al-Qaida terrorist offshoot flourishes.
Angry demonstrators protested the rebels move in street rallies in several cities, raising fears of a full-blown sectarian conflict between Yemen s new Shiite tribal rulers, known as Houthis, and the disenfranchised Sunni majority.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the United States was "deeply concerned with this unilateral step," but insisted the Houthis declaration as the true government of Yemen following a four-month insurrection would not affect U.S. counterterrorism efforts there.
The declaration, read on the rebels Al-Masseria TV network, envisaged "a new era that will take Yemen to safe shores."
The Houthi statement gave no timetable for elections, nor any indication of Hadi s fate.
Saudi Arabia, which long has provided an economic lifeline to Yemen, slashed aid following the Houthis September insurrection and shows no sign of restoring it.
The Houthis political critics forecast that Friday s gambit would only fuel conflict between the Houthis who are Zaydis, a Shiite minority sect representing a third of Yemen s population and the overwhelmingly Sunni rest of the country.
"They are a militia, not a political group," he said.
Ali al-Bukhiti, a former member of the Houthis political arm, called the takeover an insane "horror movie" that would end in Yemen s fragmentation.
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