Yemen: Pro-Government Forces Launch Offensive to Seize Zinjibar

UAE-led government forces launched an offensive on the Houthi-held Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province in south Yemen. The BBC reports that pro-government troops, using tanks and other heavy equipment, were attacking the city from the north and south.

The fall of city would deal another blow to the Houthis after they lost Aden and Al Anad airbase, Yemen’s largest military base.

The UAE official news agency WAM said today that three Emirati soldiers were killed in action fighting the Houthis.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Ministry of Defense said today that Egyptian soldiers are part of  the Arab coalition against the Houthis. The Yemenis are saying that Egyptian troops arrived in Aden this week and are part of a 5,000-strong ground troop force led by the Emiratis and Saudis

File photo: Yemeni pro-government fighters at Al Anad airbase; 5 August 2015 (Saleh Al-Obaidi/AFP)

Saudi Leaders at White House

President Barack Obama welcomed Saudi leaders, the crown prince and deputy crown prince, to the White House today for discussions on Iran, AP reported. Later Wednesday, other GCC leaders will join Obama and the Saudis for a dinner at the White House. They’ll head to Camp David Thursday for talks on  Iran nuclear agreement and the situation in Yemen as well as broader security situation in the region.

Photo credit: President Obama meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House; 13 May 2015 (Twitter)

Saudi-led coalition land/amphibious actions, GCC efforts at UNSC

 

Above: public defiance displayed by Yemeni tribal forces at Sana'a, during Saudi-led coalition efforts directed at Yemen

According to to Reuters:

Yemen's Houthi fighters and their allies seized a central Aden district on Thursday striking a heavy blow against the Saudi-led coalition which has waged a week of air strikes to try to stem advances by the Iran-allied Shi'ite group.

Hours after the Houthis took over Aden's central Crater neighborhood, unidentified armed men arrived by sea in an area of the port city which the Iran-allied Shi'ite fighters have yet to reach.

A Yemeni official denied that ground troops had landed in Aden and a port official said they were armed guards who had disembarked from a Chinese ship trying to bring aid or evacuate civilians.

COMMENTARY: It's possible a Yemen Army formation loyal to Hadi has been landed to contest Ansarullah's push towards the Crater district of southern Aden. There are also reports that Chinese military personnel landed to assist in the evacuation of Chinese nationals, which was reported as partially successful.

A diplomat in Riyadh said Aden had come to symbolize Hadi's fading authority, meaning that Saudi Arabia could not afford to allow it to fall completely under Houthi control. But he said Riyadh's air campaign was so far geared more towards a slow war of attrition than an effective defense of the southern city.

"Saleh and the Houthis are keeping the pressure on Aden, which is the weak point in Saudi strategy," he said. "I think the Saudis would put ground forces into Aden to recapture it if it falls. It is a red line for them."

COMMENTARY: If the Saudis have planned for a long duration, aerial bombardment campaign, this would differ from the Israeli approach, which is short and sharp (other than the First Lebanon War, which is widely regarded as unsuccessful and ultimately counter-productive).

Landing Saudi troops at Port Aden for an urban fight risks casualties, with an attrition war not favorable to the invading force. It also requires considerable logistical support, likely involving the United States.

There are also reports of Royal Saudi Land Force suffering its first KIA during intense ground warfare against Ansarullah forces at the Saudi-Yemeni border. There may ebven be an inexorable pull for Saudi forces to foray into Yemeni territory, or even to invade in force.

In the Arabian Sea port of Mukalla, 500 km (300 miles) east of Aden, suspected al Qaeda fighters stormed the central prison and freed 150 prisoners, some of them al Qaeda detainees, sources in the local police and administration said.

They named one of the escapees as Khaled Batarfi, a provincial al Qaeda leader who was arrested four years ago, security sources said. Soldiers loyal to Hadi clashed with the suspected al Qaeda fighters in Mukalla early on Thursday, residents said.

COMMENTARY: This represents a serious blow to American counter-terror efforts, and considered an unfortunate byproduct of the Saudi-led coalition military effort directed towards Yemen.

According to AFP:

Gulf countries are locked in tough negotiations with Russia on a UN draft resolution to impose an arms embargo and sanctions on Yemen, diplomats said Wednesday.

[…]

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been negotiating with the five permanent Security Council members and Jordan on a text after Saudi Arabia launched an air campaign on Yemen on March 26, without a UN mandate.

The GCC is no longer seeking a resolution that supports Saudi-led military action in Yemen, which Saudi Arabia argues is legal because it is being carried out at Hadi's request, diplomats said.

But its push for an international arms embargo and sanctions targeting the Huthis has run into major opposition from Russia, which has friendly relations with Iran.

[…]

During negotiations, Russia presented amendments to the draft resolution that would extend an arms embargo to all sides, including Hadi's forces in the conflict, diplomats said.

Moscow also opposed sweeping sanctions against the Huthis and requested that a list be submitted of individual names of rebel leaders who could be targeted for a global travel ban and assets freeze.

[…]

The UN's peace envoy for Yemen, Jamal Benomar, was in New York on Wednesday for meetings amid reports that Gulf countries were demanding that he be replaced.

COMMENTARY: At the Arab sumit held last week at Sharm El-Sheikh, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal accused Putin of hypocrisy after a letter by Putin was read aloud at the meeting and made public. Faisal referred to Russian assistance to Syria during that ongoing conflict. Now GCC members are seeking Russian approval of a UNSC resolution to assist their coalition war directed towards Yemen; a war not too dissimilar to Russia's in its pursuit of maintaining political leadership preferences in neighboring Ukraine, for which Russia has been economically sanctioned by the West. Many ironies during the multiple flash points of configuration currently afflicting the Middle East.

It's also interesting that the Saudi-led coalition war directed towards Yemen, as well as the military command dispute during the Salahadin campaign in Iraq reported late last week, doesn't appear to have impacted Iran's diplomatic posture during high-stakes nuclear negotiations at Lausanne.

Battle of Aden intensifying - BBC News

Video still of claimed Ansarullah-operated T-55 tank during Battle of Aden 

According to BBC News:

Fighting in the Yemeni city of Aden has intensified as Houthi rebels try to seize control of the city.

Houthi rebels allied with troops loyal to the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh have reportedly advanced deeper into Aden to try and wrest control of the city from fighters loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

The BBC's Security Correspondent Frank Gardner says that if reports of rebel tanks entering the centre of the southern port city are confirmed, then the rebels will have consolidated their grip on the most important parts of Yemen.

COMMENTARY: Pro-Hadi forces should possess considerable advantages in firepower from Saudi-led coalition tactical aviation, naval gunfire and U.S. provided intelligence.

However it is being reported Ansarullah revolutionary forces have made penetrations into Aden's urban terrain, making civilian casualties and collateral damage an increasing concern.

Yemen Army formations and some Yemeni-Sunni armed elements reportedly aligned with the Ansarullah revolutionary cause, while observers pay attention to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh for a possible flip against Ansarullah in support of Hadi. How, in the future, Hadi could be successfully rehabilitated as accepted leader of a unified Yemen state remains an unanswered question. Also, there's concern the byproduct of this Saudi-led coaltion military action serving to improve the military fortunes of AQAP.

Map depiction, approximation of forces for 02APR15 at Battle of Aden

Ansarullah motorized element, claimed to be photographed on Aden coastside. Note U.S.-origin Ford F-350 Super Duty truck.

Claimed transport of humanitarian relief supplies from Iran to Yemen on 31MAR15. 

Foreground aircraft: IRGC-operated Pouya Air Ilyushin Il-76TD, reg. EP-PUL (cn 0033448393)

Background aircraft: IRGC-operated Pouya Air Antonov An-74TK-200, reg. EP-PUM

[photo: Islamic Republic News Agency]

Egyptian Navy and Iran Navy vessels at Gulf of Aden

There are unverified reports of the Egyptian Navy firing warning shots at Iranian warships near Bab el-Mandab Strait, during Operation Decisive Storm.

Furthermore, according to the Daily Star:

Four Egyptian naval vessels have crossed the Suez Canal en route to Yemen to secure the Gulf of Aden, maritime sources at the Suez Canal said Thursday.

The sources said they expected the vessels to reach the Red Sea by Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, just prior to the onset of Operation Decisive Storm, Iranian media reported Iran Navy warships engaged in anti-piracy operations in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. From Press TV:

Iranian naval forces have successfully saved an Iranian-owned oil tanker from pirates in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

The Iranian tanker came under attack on Wednesday morning after 32 armed people on board four speedboats and a fishing barge laid siege to the ship.

The Iranian Navy vessels patrolling the area rushed to assist the vessel upon its distress call.

COMMENTARY: The Saudi-led coalition engaging in Operation Decisive Storm is establishing a naval blockade of Yemen.

Iran Navy vessels are reported to be operating near Bab el-Mandab Strait. A typical Iran Navy "Fleet" operating at the Gulf of Aden comprises a frigate or corvette, and a logistics vessel. At least one vessel in such a fleet equipped with helipad.

There appears opportunity for a naval encounter between Saudi-led coalition forces, and Iran Navy vessels operating in waters near the conflict in Yemen.

Previous Iran Navy 32nd Fleet operating at Gulf of Aden, comprising:

- IRINS Jamaran (76) Moudge class guided missile frigate (FFGH)

- IRINS Bushehr (422) Bandar Abbas class replenishment ship (AORLH)

File photo: Islamic Republic News Agency

Iran Promises A Year’s Worth of Oil to Yemen’s Houthis

Iran will provide the Houthis with oil for the next year, a Houthi delegation returning from a two-week visit to Tehran announced. The delegation was headed by Saleh al-Samad, the president of the political wing of the Houthis. (Saba/MEE, 13 March)

Iran-backed Houthi militia seized power by force in Sanaa and dissolved the parliament in February. Houthi’s Revolutionary Committee president Mohammed Ali al-Houthi is now the de-facto ruler in Sanaa. But Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi eventually escaped to southern Yemen, and has formed his own parallel government in Aden.

Iranian decision to supply oil to the Huthis comes after Tehran began direct daily commercial flights to Sanaa, expected to facilitate the transfer of arms, equipment and cash to the Houthis to maintain control of Sanaa and northern Yemen.

The political situation in the country is getting tense. The World Bank announced on Friday that it was halting its activities in Yemen over security fears after Houthi militiamen opened fire on a pro-Hadi rally attended by thousands of people in the central city of Baida on Thursday, killing two protesters. Meanwhile, the UN special envoy to Yemen warned of a civil war in the country.

“If there is no agreement (between the two competing governments), the prospects are very bleak,” Jamal Benomar, UN special advisor on Yemen, told Aljazeera. (MEE, 13 March)

On Wednesday, the Houthis rejected a call for talks between the two governments to begin in Riyadh, saying the Saudis were not a neutral actor in the discussion on the country’s future.

South Yemen could potentially break away from Sanaa. It was an independent Communist state between 1967 to 1990, with Aden as its capital, when it reunited with the north. Hadi, a southerner himself, has so far blocked calls for secession. But with two competing governments in Sanaa and Aden, the impoverished country is rapidly polarized raising fears of a wider conflict in near future.

Photo credit: Pro-Houthi supporters shout anti-Western and anti-Saudi slogans during a rally in Sanaa; March 2015 (AFP)

Iran’s Mahan Air Launches Flights to Sanaa

Iran’s Mahan Air on Sunday launched its first flight from Tehran to Sanaa under an agreement signed on Saturday between Iran and the Huthi-controlled Yemeni government in Sanaa, the Iranian media reported. Iran has provided the Huthis with material support during their successful takeover of the Yemeni capital. Direct Mahan flight to Sanaa would facilitate the transfer of arms and equipment to the Huthis.

File photo: Mahan Air (saba.net)

Houthi security at Yemeni Air Force base in Sana’a

Above: recent photo of a Yemeni Air Force Mikoyan MiG-29 multirole fighter of 9th Squadron, following a reported runway overshoot at Sana'a International Airport (OYSN) due to drag chute failure.

Perhaps the more interesting detail is this photograph's evidence of pro-Iran Houthi militamen seen performing security duties at the Yemeni Air Force base section of Sana'a International Airport.

Both the Yemeni Air Force and Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force operate Mikoyan MiG-29 multirole fighter aircraft.

On a somewhat related note, during the past week this photo emerged of pro-Iran Houthi militamen in possession of Yemeni military 2K12 Kub (NATO: SA-6 "Gainful") mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems.

Both Yemen and Iran's militaries operate the 2K12 Kub SAM system.

Recently, Iranian and Houthi leaders have made public statements to the effect that Yemen under the control of Ansarallah has joined the Iran-led "Axis of Resistence."

U.S. Closes Embassy in Sanaa - UPDATE

British, French Also Close Embassies

The United States is closing its embassy in Yemen because of unstable and tenuous nature of the security situation in the country. (Reuters, 10 February)

In September, Houthi militias captured the capital city of Sanaa and last month they occupied the presidential palace, driving President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi and his government to resign. On Friday, the Huthis imposed a presidential council to replace Hadi and dissolved the Yemeni parliament.

Yemen now risks descending into a civil war, pitting regional, tribal and sectarian rivals against each other. Between 1967-1990, the southern and eastern provinces were independent of Sanaa, ruled by the pro-Soviet People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, or South Yemen, with Aden as its capital. They united with North Yemen in 1990, but seceded from it in 1994 after complaining that the northerners did not abide by unity provisions. North Yemen then occupied the south after a bloody civil war. With recent developments in Sanaa, especially with dismissal of Hadi as the country’s president (Hadi is a southerner), there is an increasing risk of another full-blown civil war if the south seceded from the Huthi-controlled North.

Regionally, the recent developments could intensify tensions between Iran, which backs the Huthis, and Saudi Arabia, which opposes the armed Shia group.

For the Islamic Republic, this is the first attempt at a regime change in the region, with its allied group overtly taking charge of the government by force.

UPDATE: The staff of the embassy had been getting rid of documents and weapons in the past few days before abandoning the building, Reuters reports.

UPDATE II: Employees at the British, French and German embassies had also been destroying and ready to close their missions in Sanaa. British and French embassies were reported closed on Wednesday.

UPDATE III: Saudi Arabia also closed its embassy in Sanaa; 13 February.

Photo credit: A general view of the U.S. embassy compound in Sanaa; 27 January 2015 (Mohamed Al-Sayaghi/Reuters)

Chaos in Yemen

Hadi Resigns - Huthis Solidify Position in Sanaa

 

Yemeni President Rabbo Mansour Hadi resigned on Thursday, deepening the chaos that now reigns in Sanaa. The Huthi insurgents who had stormed presidential palace on Tuesday are now solidifying their position as the new rulers in the country’s capital, something their leader, Abd al-Malik al-Huthi, had all but declared in a televised address earlier this week. They are now in control of government institutions, including military and security forces.

Huthis, predominantly members of the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam, are strongly backed by Iran’s Quds Force, who has provided them with military and financial aid needed to expand their insurgency against the pro-Western government of former president Hadi. It is not clear, however, if the Iranians directed or even expected the Huthi sweeping move into Sanaa in September, which took many by surprise, like ISIL’s march into Mosul last June. It appears any armed group, Shia or Sunni, with strong will power and some local support can march into a major city in the region there days and not expect any stiff resistance from the militaries and security forces! The Huthis certainly did borrow a page from ISIL book of conquest.

But the Iranians are using the Huthi victory and rapid pace of the events in Sanaa to solidify their own position in Yemen. This could be the first Islamic Republic-sponsored regime change in the region. It is also a payback time. Iran’s supreme leader had recently accused Saudi Arabia of manipulating oil markets to bleed Iran financially. Now Iran can threaten Saudi influence in the region through a Huthi-led government in Sanaa. Ironically the death of Saudi Arabia’s king Abdullah came on the heel of Hadi’s resignation. The Saudis on their part accuse the Huthis of being a proxy for Shia Iran intent to undermine Saudi security on its southern border with Yemen. But it is not clear if the Huthis can be regarded as an Iranian proxy in the same way as Shia militias in Iraq and Syria. But they now depend on Iran to solidify their position in the country’s capital.

Events in Sanaa could most likely send the country into a full-fledged civil war, threatening a Syria-like disintegration of Yemen with different sects, tribes and groups fighting each other. The Zaydis, now in power in Sanaa, constitute only a third of Yemen’s population of 24 million, which is majority Sunni Muslim, in a predominantly tribal society. The Quds Force is expected to implement its successful Syrian and Iraqi tactics in Yemen: significant arms shipment; financial assistance; deployment of advisers and senior officers; providing training and strategic planning; and transforming some 50,000-strong Huthi fighting force into semi-official Shia militia to take the lead in military and security operations in the coming civil war.

Al-Qaida in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the powerful branch of the terrorist organization, is based in Yemen, and enjoys the support of some of the tribal leaders, especially in Ma’rib, the city in the country’s heartland with its own oil and gas industry. The Huthis probably want to control the oil infrastructure of area, including the oil pipeline, to expand their hold on central and north Yemen. The AQAP and the tribes close to it will, however, most probably will put up a fight to keep their influence Ma’rib. AQAP will also use the chaos in Sanaa to advance their position in the country. The Hadi government had worked closely with the U.S. in waging an offensive against AQAP in recent years, including continuous drone attacks against their positions and leadership. With Hadi’s resignation and the Huthi takeover in Sanaa, that threat against the AQAP might now diminish.

Meanwhile, the southern Yemen, once independent under a socialist government, merging with the north in 1990, could witness a new separatist movement. In fact, the Yemeni army’s 4^th Military Regional Command, based in Aden, the former capital of South Yemen, is apparently the only military unit that is opposing the Huthi insurgency.

Photo credit: A Huthi fighter mans a checkpoint in Sanaa; 21 January 2015 (Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters/Al-Minitor)

Iranian Support Seen Crucial for Yemen’s Houthis - Report

Iran has supplied weapons, money and training to the Shia Houthi militia that seized Yemen’s capital in September, Reuters quoted Yemeni, Western and Iranian officials as saying.

A senior Yemeni security official said Iran has steadily supported the Houthis, who have fought the central government since 2004 from their northern stronghold of Saadah.

“Before the entrance into Sanaa, Iran started sending weapons here and gave a lot of support with money via visits abroad,” said the Yemeni official. Iran saw victory would be swift in Yemen, unlike in Iraq and Syria, and “with not much expenses,” added the official. “(Reuters, 15 December)

A second Yemeni security official told Reuters that “weapons are still coming in by sea and there’s money coming in through transfer.”

A Western source also told Reuters that Houthis have been getting training and money from Iran.

“It has been happening over a year. We’ve seen Houthis going out to Iran and Lebanon for military training,” said the Western source.

“We think there is cash, some of which is channeled via Hezbollah and sacks of cash arriving at the airport. The numbers of those going for training are enough for us to worry about.”

And a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the Quds Force had a “few hundred” military personnel in Yemen who train Houthi fighters, He said about 100 Houthis had traveled to Iran this year for training at an IRGC base near Qom.

The Iranian official added that there were Iranian military advisors stationed in Yemen, and the pace of money and arms getting to the Houthis had increased since their seizure of Sanaa.

“Everything is about the balance of power in the region,” said the Iranian official. “ Iran wants a powerful Shia presence in the region, that is why it has got involved in Yemen as well.” (Reuters, 15 December)

Iran regards Saudi Arabia as its main rival in the region, and with Houthis in power in Sanaa it sees a shift in balance of power in Yemen against the kingdom and in its favor.

In 2013, the cargo ship “Jihan 1” was seized by Yemeni officials, reportedly smuggling weapons to the insurgents. The Yemeni officals told Reuters that the cargo included Katyushka rockets M-122, heat-seeking-surface-to-air missiles, RPG-7s, Iranian-made night vision goggles, and artillery systems that “tracked and naval targets 40km away.”

There were also silencers, 2.66 tons of RDX explosives, C-4 explosives, ammunition, bullets and electrical transistors on board the cargo ship.

A few days after Sanaa takeover, Houthi gunmen surrounded the National Security headquarters and freed from jail eight Yemeni crewmembers of “Jihan 1.” Two members of Hezbollah jailed for providing military training to the Houthis were also freed from the jail.

With the Houthis now in control of the capital, the airport and most of the port of Hodeidah, more overt Iranian support for the Houthis is expected.

Photo credit: A Houthi militiaman in Rada, Yemen; 22 November 2014 (Mohamed Al-Sayaghi/Reuters

Iran Envoy House in Sanaa Attacked

Car Bomb Kills Two, Damages Buildings

A car bomb, reportedly planted by Al Qaeda militants in Yemen, exploded outside the official residence of the Iranian ambassador to Yemen, killing two people, and damaging the residence and buildings nearby. (AP, 3 December)

The ambassador, Hossein Niknam, was not at home when the bomb exploded at the residence in Sanaa, Yemeni capital. A security guard and his son were killed. The blast punched a hole into the residence and heavily damaged several nearby buildings.

Sunni militants regard Iran as their enemy in Yemen, having armed and helped the Huthis to take power in Sanaa.
  

Yemen's Shite rebels overrun Al-Qaeda stronghold at Rada'a

According to Associated Press:

Yemen's Shiite rebels on Friday overran an al-Qaida stronghold after days of battling the militants for the city in the country's central heartland, a Yemeni official and a tribal leader said.

The capture of the city of Radda, in the in the province of Bayda, came with the help of a Yemeni army commander, the two said.

The Shiite rebels known as Houthis have been fighting both al-Qaida militants and Sunni tribes over the past few days. The rebels, who in September gained control of the capital, Sanaa, earlier this week overran a key Yemeni port city on the Red Sea.

The Houthis entered Radda on Friday, after the commander of Yemeni army's Battalion 193 gave up his troops positions, a security official and a tribal leader from the city said.

An interesting situation report from Saudi Arabia's perspective on the Shia advances in Yemen has recently been rendered at Al-Monitor:

[I]t is very frustrating in Riyadh to see the Zaydi Houthis and their Iranian friends doing so well in Yemen. From King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s perspective, the kingdom is under dual sieges. The first is Iran and its proxies, Hezbollah and the regimes in Syria and Iraq. The second is al-Qaeda and its offshoot the Islamic State (IS) with their strongholds in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

The Houthi advance threatens to plunge Yemen into the same kind of sectarian struggle that grips Syria and Iraq. The Sunni majority in Yemen and the Zaydi minority are increasingly polarizing the country on sectarian grounds, with the Saudis and Iranians fighting another proxy war along the Sunni-Shiite divide.

Since the United States was Saleh’s ally for years and now backs Hadi, the Zaydis are, not surprisingly, anti-American. Washington’s close ties to Riyadh add to their animus against the United States. A bumper sticker on Houthi vehicles proclaims “Death to America, Death to Israel, A curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam.” At the same time, the Houthis and AQAP are mortal enemies. Just as in Iraq, the pro-Iranian Shiite Zaydis in Yemen are opponents of extremist Sunni ideologues such as IS and AQAP.

Houthi militiamen, observed better equipped & organized

Above: Houthi militiamen seen outfitted in new Yemen Army issue digital camouflage BDUs and Yemen Army issue boots. Observed 14OCT14 at Sanaa, Yemen.

Houthi security enforcing perimeter around coffins of persons killed by SVIED attack carried out by AQAP. Houthi security seen outfitted in Yemen law enforcement issue high visibility vests. Observed 14OCT14 at Sanaa, Yemen.

Houthi militiaman seen outfitted in new Yemen Police issue uniform, including BDUs, boots and beret. Note Houthi slogan sticker attached to magazine of AK-type assault rifle. Observed 08OCT14 at Sanaa, Yemen.

Houthi appear to have integrated into or supplanted Yemen Army and police ranks in the capital city. This is a core source of contention for Saudi Arabia towards Iran as seen earlier this week in the diplomatic spat made public between the two countries, with Saudi Arabia identifying Iran as a cause of Houthi military and political ascendancy currently taking effect in parts of Yemen.

Houthi militiamen as they appeared on 22SEP14 upon their takeover of Yemen Army First Armored Division military compound near Sanaa, Yemen.

Houthi capture of Yemen Army T-55 medium tank, observed 22SEP14 near Sanaa, Yemen

Houthi capture of Yemen Army T-55 medium tank, observed 22SEP14 near Sanaa, Yemen

Houthi capture of Yemen Army BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle, observed 22SEP14 near Sanaa, Yemen

Houthi capture of battle-damaged Yemen Army REVA 4x4 MKII armored personnel carrier 

Houthi fighters in Ibb, Yemen, dated 15OCT14. Fighter at right seen outfitted in Yemen Army issue 3-Color DCU type field jacket.

Photos: Khaled Abdullah at Reuters and Hani Mohammed at Associated Press

IRGC Officers Freed in Yemen

Asharq al-Awsat reports that several Iranian military personnel, probably IRGC or IRGC-QF officers, who were detained in Yemen, were released on Wednesday after the Huthi rebels took control of the country’s national security headquarters where the detainees were being held. The Huthis are in control of most of the Yemeni capital Sanaa.   

The Iranians were the crew of the Jihan 1, an Iranian ship that was captured off Yemeni coast in January 2013 for smuggling a large cache of weapons into Yemen. Yemeni security sources told Asharq al-Awsat that the Iranians were affiliated with the IRGC.

Meanwhile, Yemeni authorities released two other Iranians they arrested earlier this year at Sanaa International Airport on charges of training Huthi insurgents, AFP reported on Thursday. The release of those two Iranians was secured after meditation efforts from Oman. They left Sanaa airport on board an Omani plane. (AFP/Asharq al-Awsat, 25 September)

On political front, Yemeni President Hadi appointed two new presidential advisors from the Houthi Ansar Allah organization and the Southern Yemeni secessionist movement, Al-Hirak. The government also cut fuel prices by 15 percent, a major demand of the opposition. After the price hikes in July, a number of protest camps across the capital were set up, manned ny the opposition for over a month.

Photo credit: Houthi rebels man a checkpoint in Yemeni capital Sanaa; 24 September 2014. Note Huthi’s official logo on display at the checkpoint. The group's logo consists of five slogans: “God is Great” - "Death to America” - “Death to Israel" - “Damn the Jews" - “Victory to Islam.” (Photo: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters/Asharq al-Awsat)

Revolution in Yemen

Large parts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa have been taken over by Houthi rebels. The leader of Houthi insurgents, Abdel Malik al-Houthi, described the takeover as a “successful revolution.” The rebels have taken over key government buildings in the capital, including the country’s central bank, and several military bases.

Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has signed a power-sharing agreement with the rebels, who had called for the “corrupt” government to quit. Rebel leader al-Houti called the agreement a “victory for all the people.” He said the accord will lead to fuel price cuts and economic reforms.

Former longtime Yemeni strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted from power amid popular Arab Spring protests in 2011. Now the Houthi insurgents are moving against Islah Party forces, the largest opposition party in the country, searching for and arresting their leaders, to consolidate their position as the sole functioning opposition force. Years of unrest following 2011 ouster of Saleh have also contributed to the rise of Al Qaeda-affiliated militants in the country.

The Houthi tribesmen are predominantly Zaidi Shia, who like the mainstream Shias believe in Imamate, but otherwise are close to Sunni traditions of Islam, and unique to Yemen. Iran’s Quds Force has actively supported the Houthi insurgents since their uprisings against the government in 2011. The Islah (“Reform”) Party is a coalition of Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and their leader Mohammad Qahtan is considered a moderate Islamist. The party, an unorthodox alliance, also encompasses Islamic extremists and tribesmen.

Photo credit: Houthi insurgents in Yemeni capital of Sanaa (Sky News)

Iran Calls for Diplomat’s Release

Anniversary of Being Kidnapped in Yemen

Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian today called on Yemeni authorities to help secure the release of an Iranian diplomat abducted in Sana'a last year. Nour Ahmad Nikbakht was kidnapped near the embassy on his way to work by unidentified gunmen on 21 July 2013.

Yemeni officials released intelligence reports in May showing Nikbakht was alive.

File photo: A Yemeni soldier stands guard in front of the Iranian Embassy in Sana’a. (IRNA/Press TV)

Remains of slain diplomat return to Iran

 

Remains of Iranian diplomat Ali Asghar Asadi flown from Yemen back to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran aboard Iran Air Airbus A320-211, reg: EP-IEG (cn 2054).

IRGC pall-bearer detail hoisting flag-draped coffin of Ali Asghar Asadi

Photos: Esmaeil Askari at FARS News Agency

Abducted Iranian Diplomat Is Alive - Iran

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said today the Iranian diplomat abducted in Yemen has not been killed.

“According to the existing information, Mr. Nikbakht (who was abducted in Yemen last July) is in good health, and Tehran and Sana’a are actively cooperating to secure his release,” Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Monday. (Mehr News Agency, 24 December)

The Iranian diplomat, Nour-Ahmad Nikbakht, was travelling through southern Sana’a in July when unknown armed men blocked the road, forced him to get out of his vehicle and took him to an unknown location.

File photo: Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tehran. (IRNA)