Tensions are escalating in Yemen as Iranian-backed Houthi militias and forces loyal to ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, backed by Saudi Arabia, are “squaring off for battle after months of skirmishes,” Reuters reports.
“With President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi seeking a comeback from the port city of Aden while the Shi’ite Houthi movement controls the capital Sanaa, rival administrations are trading bellicose rhetoric as fighting intensifies and factions commandeer airfields for the next stage of the struggle.”
Bloomberg reports that Shiite Houthi forces are advancing deeper into southern Yemen, moving Tuesday into Ad-Dali’ province, about 150 kilometers north of Aden.
Sanaa, Yemen’s Capital.
The deepening crisis has caused Saudi Arabia and GCC allies to say they will take “necessary measures” to restore stability, in the event that peace talks fail, Bloomberg’s Glen Carey and Mohammed Hatem report.
“We hope that this can be done peacefully but if it is not done peacefully, certainly countries of the region will take the necessary measures to protect the region from the aggression,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal.
Both Britain and the United States have now withdrawn their last remaining special forces in the country as the instability reaches a critical point. The U.N.’s envoy for Yemen described as the country as being on the “edge of civil war,” NPR reports.
“Iran’s allies are gaining strength on Saudi Arabia’s borders, creating the worst security environment for the kingdom in decades,” writes Gulf expert Bruce Riedel in Al Arabiya. “The withdrawal of the remaining US military personnel from Yemen only adds to Riyadh’s desperation, with Riyadh worried that Washington’s priority is a nuclear deal with Tehran, not stopping Iranian subversion in the Arab world.”
