Houthi Leader Accuses Saudi Arabia of Destabilizing Yemen
In a TV address, leader says neighboring country is funding state enemies
Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, center, meets with politicians at the Republican Palace in the southern port city of Aden on Thursday. PHOTO: REUTERS
SAN’A, Yemen—The leader of Yemen’s Houthis, the minority group whose militants took over the government three weeks ago, accused neighboring Saudi Arabia on Thursday of destabilizing the country and financing enemies of the state.
Abdul Malik Al Houthi made the charge in a televised speech from the capital, San’a, just hours after Saudi Arabia decided to move its ambassador to the southern port city of Aden. The Houthis’ rival for power, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, fled from San’a to Aden last weekend.
Saudi Arabia had shut its embassy in San’a earlier this month alongside Western countries and the U.S., which support the preservation of the political setup that existed before the Houthi takeover.
Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries are strong supporters of the embattled Mr. Hadi, while their regional opponent Iran supports the Houthis in the deepening political uncertainty that threatens to spill over into a civil war.
Saudi funds pouring into Yemen “aim to hurt the people of Yemen,” Mr. Houthi said in his evening address, broadcast on the Houthi-run Al Masirah network. “Those who travel and receive the Saudi funds will lose because they sold their dignity and country cheap,” he said.
The Houthis, a movement that is part of the Zaidi offshoot of Shiite Islam, extended their control from their northern base last year and overran San’a in September. The group, estimated to constitute 30% of Yemen’s population, demanded a greater share of power in government, then led by Mr. Hadi, a Sunni Muslim.
After months of negotiations, compromises, clashes and cease-fires, armed Houthi militants overtook government buildings and the presidential palace in January, forcing Mr. Hadi to resign.
Houthis unilaterally took charge of the government after two weeks of talks for a political deal faltered. Mr. Hadi remained under house arrest in the capital, before escaping last weekend to Aden.
Mr. Hadi has since been shoring up support from domestic and international allies for a comeback. He rescinded his resignation, which never received the required majority-vote approval of the Yemeni parliament.
Saudi Arabian and Qatari diplomats visited Mr. Hadi in Aden on Wednesday in a show of support, according to an aide to Mr. Hadi and an Aden government official. Saudi Arabia then seated its ambassador in the city Thursday, the people said.
Saudi and Qatari foreign ministry officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
In his speech Thursday, Mr. Houthi accused Mr. Hadi of being a pawn of Saudi Arabia and the U.S., and warned that domestic political factions would fail if they aligned themselves with Mr. Hadi. The Saudis, he said, “support fighting, and finance problems. All those who want the worst for Yemen are allying with Hadi.”
More than a month of political turmoil since Mr. Hadi’s resignation has led Yemen closer to an all-out internal conflict, setting Mr. Hadi and his base in the Sunni southern provinces against the Houthis, who draw support mainly from the north.
