Dead end: Yemeni president steps down, deepening chaos

PM offers resignation; Houthi rebels hail decision

SANAA: Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi resigned on Thursday, a spokesperson said, throwing the country deeper into chaos days after Houthi rebels battled their way into his presidential palace.

Hadi, an ally of the United States, stood down abruptly shortly after Prime Minister Khaled Baha had offered his government’s resignation, saying it did not want to be dragged into “an unconstructive political maze”. This was an apparent reference to a stand-off between Hadi and the Houthi movement which has been holding the president a virtual prisoner in his own official residence.



“We apologise to you personally and to the honourable chamber and to the Yemeni people after we reached a dead end,” a government spokesman quoted Hadi’s resignation letter as saying. It was addressed to the speaker of parliament, who becomes interim head of state under the constitution.

Hadi’s decision marked an abrupt turnaround from Wednesday, when he said he was ready to accept Houthi demands for a bigger stake in constitutional and political arrangements.

Houthi’s reaction

A senior official of Houthi movement said he welcomed the resignation of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

“The resignation of (Hadi) is a glad tiding for all Yemenis,” Abu al Malek Yousef al Fishi said in a message posted on the messaging service Twitter.

Regional struggle

The rebels’ rise has resulted in a shift in Yemen’s complex tribal, religious and regional allegiances. Suspecting Iranian complicity, the authorities in Riyadh cut most of their financial aid to Yemen after the Houthis’ takeover of the capital.

The potential fall of Hadi’s government will raise serious concerns of Yemen collapsing into complete chaos.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.