Yemen’s Houthi rebels to dissolve parliament

The Houthi rebels who forced Yemen’s president and cabinet to step down last month have announced that they intended to dissolve parliament and take control of the country, which does not now have a functioning government.

Houthi officials said the plan would be put into effect quickly, but conceded that the process might take weeks to complete. They said they would name a national council to replace the parliament, which would in turn choose a committee to select a new president.

“The revolutionary movement has always been quick; it won’t take that long,” said Ali al-Imad, a member of the Houthi political bureau. “It’s not important when, so much as it is that we now have a political road map.”

Yemen has been without a formal leadership since January 22nd, when President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his cabinet abruptly resigned.

The Houthis had surrounded the presidential palace and put Mr Hadi under house arrest. An agreement reached to ease the crisis and overhaul the government swiftly fell apart, leading to the resignations.

The Houthis, who are believed to be financed by Iran, are dominated by a Shia Muslim sect, the Zaydis, who make up nearly a third of the country's population and are dominant in the north.

They are anti-American, but are even more opposed to al-Qaeda, whose regional affiliate is powerful in the Sunni tribal areas of Yemen. – (New York Times/Reuters)