The Gulf Co-operation Council has accused Shia Houthi rebels of staging a coup in Yemen after they announced they were dissolving parliament and forming a new government, Kuwait's official news agency said on Saturday. The opposition of the GCC, a six-nation bloc comprising energy-rich Gulf states, may signal growing isolation for the impoverished Yemen and reflects the hostility of its majority Sunni Muslim neighbours towards the Iranian-backed Houthis.
"This Houthi coup is a dangerous escalation which we reject and is unacceptable. It totally contradicts the spirit of pluralism and coexistence which Yemen has known," the GCC was quoted as saying by KUNA news agency. The GCC called the takeover a "threat...to the security and stability of the region and the interests of its people." Yemen has been in political limbo since the president and prime minister resigned last month after the Houthis seized the presidential palace. On Friday, the movement dissolved parliament and said it would set up a new interim government.
Abdel Malik al-Houthi, the group's leader, said on Saturday he was open to all parties playing a role in Yemen's future. "Our hand is extended to every political force in this country ... the space is open for partnership, co-operation and brotherhood and now everybody bears their responsibility for building, not destruction," he said in a televised speech.
Comments
Comments are closed.