Condemnation grew Sunday of a powerful Shiite militia's tightening grip on Yemen, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for Western-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to be restored to power.
Tensions ran high in south and southeastern Yemen, where authorities said they did "not recognise" the rule of the Huthis and that they "totally reject the constitutional declaration" by which they seized control.
The Huthis on Friday dissolved parliament and created a "presidential council" in a move they said was designed to fill a power vacuum after Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Bahah resigned last month.
They also sought to portray the move as a means to head off the threat from Al-Qaeda, which has a strong presence in east and south Yemen.
Speaking to reporters after talks with King Salman in Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, Ban warned "the situation is very, very seriously deteriorating, with the Huthis taking power and making this government vacuum."
"There must be restoration of legitimacy of President Hadi," said the UN secretary general.
The fall of Hadi's government has sparked fears that impoverished Yemen -- strategically located next to oil-rich Saudi Arabia and on the key shipping route from the Suez Canal to the Gulf -- would plunge into chaos.
Yemen's Gulf neighbours, led by Saudi, on Saturday voiced alarm and condemned what they termed a "coup" in Sanaa.
A US official at a security conference in Munich said Washington and its Gulf Arab allies "don't agree" with the Huthis' plans for a transition.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi on Sunday echoed that statement, branding the Huthi move as a "coup against constitutional legitimacy to impose that group's will at gunpoint".
Hadi had been under virtual house arrest since the Huthis seized the presidential palace and key government buildings last month, prompting him to tender his resignation to parliament, along with Bahah.
The Huthis have said they will set up a national council of 551 members to replace the legislature in the violence-wracked country.
Yemen is a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which claimed responsibility for last month's deadly attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
The militia chief, Abdelmalek al-Huthi, said the establishment of the transitional bodies, which include a security committee, would also head off the threat from Al-Qaeda which has a strong presence in east and south Yemen and would serve provinces there.
- Risk of civil war -
However, the statement by authorities in the south, which was independent until 1990, said forces in these provinces -- Aden, Abyan, Lahj, Shabwa, Daleh and Hadramawt -- rejected the Huthi takeover.
In the oil-rich eastern province of Marib, which the Huthis have long been eyeing, deputy governor Abdelwahid Namran told AFP that Sunni tribesmen were "discussing means of facing any developments".
Marib residents said heavily armed tribes were preparing to fight against any attempts by the Huthis to take over their region.
"The Huthis are incapable of governing (Sunni-majority) Yemen alone," said analyst Ali al-Bakaly.
Any attempts to expand beyond Sanaa and nearby cities, "under the cover of the constitutional declaration... will provoke a civil war" in the deeply tribal country awash with weapons.
The Huthis, also known as Ansarullah, have been met by deadly resistance from Al-Qaeda and Sunni tribes since they descended from their northern strongholds and expanded south of Sanaa last year.
Ban said UN envoy Jamal Benomar had been "working very hard in Yemen, facilitating a way out of the current political crisis and a return to the path of the peaceful political transition."
UN Security Council president Liu Jieyi has said its 15 members were ready to "take further steps" if UN-brokered negotiations to resolve Yemen's political crisis were not resumed "immediately".
Condemnation grew Sunday of a powerful Shiite militia’s tightening grip on Yemen, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for Western-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to be restored to power.
Tensions ran high in south and southeastern Yemen, where authorities said they did “not recognise” the rule of the Huthis and that they “totally reject the constitutional declaration” by which they seized control.
The Huthis on Friday dissolved parliament and created a “presidential council” in a move they said was designed to fill a power vacuum after Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Bahah resigned last month.
They also sought to portray the move as a means to head off the threat from Al-Qaeda, which has a strong presence in east and south Yemen.
Speaking to reporters after talks with King Salman in Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, Ban warned “the situation is very, very seriously deteriorating, with the Huthis taking power and making this government vacuum.”
“There must be restoration of legitimacy of President Hadi,” said the UN secretary general.
The fall of Hadi’s government has sparked fears that impoverished Yemen — strategically located next to oil-rich Saudi Arabia and on the key shipping route from the Suez Canal to the Gulf — would plunge into chaos.
Yemen’s Gulf neighbours, led by Saudi, on Saturday voiced alarm and condemned what they termed a “coup” in Sanaa.
A US official at a security conference in Munich said Washington and its Gulf Arab allies “don’t agree” with the Huthis’ plans for a transition.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi on Sunday echoed that statement, branding the Huthi move as a “coup against constitutional legitimacy to impose that group’s will at gunpoint”.
Hadi had been under virtual house arrest since the Huthis seized the presidential palace and key government buildings last month, prompting him to tender his resignation to parliament, along with Bahah.
The Huthis have said they will set up a national council of 551 members to replace the legislature in the violence-wracked country.
Yemen is a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which claimed responsibility for last month’s deadly attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
The militia chief, Abdelmalek al-Huthi, said the establishment of the transitional bodies, which include a security committee, would also head off the threat from Al-Qaeda which has a strong presence in east and south Yemen and would serve provinces there.
– Risk of civil war –
However, the statement by authorities in the south, which was independent until 1990, said forces in these provinces — Aden, Abyan, Lahj, Shabwa, Daleh and Hadramawt — rejected the Huthi takeover.
In the oil-rich eastern province of Marib, which the Huthis have long been eyeing, deputy governor Abdelwahid Namran told AFP that Sunni tribesmen were “discussing means of facing any developments”.
Marib residents said heavily armed tribes were preparing to fight against any attempts by the Huthis to take over their region.
“The Huthis are incapable of governing (Sunni-majority) Yemen alone,” said analyst Ali al-Bakaly.
Any attempts to expand beyond Sanaa and nearby cities, “under the cover of the constitutional declaration… will provoke a civil war” in the deeply tribal country awash with weapons.
The Huthis, also known as Ansarullah, have been met by deadly resistance from Al-Qaeda and Sunni tribes since they descended from their northern strongholds and expanded south of Sanaa last year.
Ban said UN envoy Jamal Benomar had been “working very hard in Yemen, facilitating a way out of the current political crisis and a return to the path of the peaceful political transition.”
UN Security Council president Liu Jieyi has said its 15 members were ready to “take further steps” if UN-brokered negotiations to resolve Yemen’s political crisis were not resumed “immediately”.
