The Shiite-Houthi takeover of the government in Sanaa is a call to arms for al Qaeda.
By Amal Mudallali is a senior scholar at the Wilson Center, a foreign policy analyst on the Middle East, and an advisor on international relations.
Foreign Policy - January 22, 2015
There’s a new boss in Sanaa, but for how long that city is the capital
of a unified Yemen, no one quite knows. On Thursday, President Abed
Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Prime Minster Khaled Bahah stepped down,
in the face of a Shiite Houthi insurrection that now threatens to
dissolve the Yemeni state as we know it. Their resignations came just
one day after Hadi bowed to the northern “invaders,” brokering an
agreement with them to end their siege of his home, withdraw their
militias from the streets and government institutions, and release
abducted chief of staff Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak. In return, the
government agreed to grant the Houthis the constitutional changes they
seek, along with a greater share of power in government and state
institutions.
But it’s Yemen’s government itself that may be the greatest casualty.
Since the Houthis started their push to power last fall, al Qaeda has
exploited the fears of Yemenis who oppose the Shiite group, trying to
convince them that it is their natural ally against the Houthis. A
sectarian war in Yemen would further strengthen al Qaeda, providing it
with more recruits among the disaffected Sunni Yemenis who increasingly
view the rise of the Houthis as an existential threat. There are already
clear signs of a strengthened al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),
including expanded operations and a larger presence across the country.
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