The Yemeni government has reached a tentative agreement with Houthi rebels aimed at defusing the country’s political crisis, according to a Yemeni official with access to a draft text of the peace deal.
The stability of the U.S. ally has been in question since Tuesday, when Houthi rebels took over the presidential palace. Some government officials called it a coup, though rebels said they had not asked President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to step down.
Under the terms of the agreement, a draft of a new constitution is reopened to changes that will grant the Houthis more political power. In exchange, the Houthis agree to release the President’s chief of staff and withdraw their militias from key government institutions.
A rebel unit with a tank stood guard outside Hadi’s residence in the capital, Sanaa, on Wednesday, and a militiaman told CNN that “the people” are now president of Yemen.
Throughout the ordeal, Hadi has considered himself to be in power, a Yemeni official briefed on the political situation told CNN.
Houthi rebels — Shiite Muslims who have long felt marginalized in the majority Sunni country — took over the presidential palace in Sanaa on Tuesday, marking what one government minister called “the completion of a coup.” There were also reports of clashes near the President’s residence.
Separately, Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah was confined to his official residence at the Republican Palace by Houthis who surrounded the building. On Wednesday, Bahah was allowed to leave his official residence and moved to an unidentified private residence, according to a spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington.
The chaos in Yemen is of deep concern to the United States and its allies because Yemen’s government has been a key ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based group linked to attacks like the recent slaughter at French magazine Charlie Hebdo. AQAP also tried to blow up a plane landing in Detroit in 2009.
Details of tentative agreement
Several of the constitutional changes sought by the Houthis would emphasize the characteristics of Yemen as a federal state and push for more inclusion of diverse groups.
The Houthis call for marginalized political groups to have the right to partnerships in state institutions and fair representation, according to the text of the tentative agreement.
In return for these government concessions, the rebels basically agree to withdraw their fighters from the capital.
The rebels currently control or have blockaded several government installations: the presidential palace, the presidential residence, the Prime Minister’s residence and a military installation where missiles are housed.
Under the agreement, the Houthis would withdraw from all of these sites.
The rebels would cooperate with the government so that the President and state institutions can return to their duties and would urge all state employees to return to their jobs.
Paralyzing political crisis
Despite the presence of rebel militiamen outside his home, the President doesn’t consider himself a captive, the Yemeni official told CNN.
The official said the Houthis were assisting Hadi’s security detail in their protection mission because part of the detail had “run away yesterday because of the fighting.”
A senior leader of the Houthi resistance movement, Abdullah Shabaan, gave a similar account. He told CNN that the “President’s personal security left him, which forced us to gather hundreds of fighters from our security to ensure he is safe.”
Summarizing the actual balance of power, the official said the Houthis’ demands were clear and “nobody can hide that they are the dominant force, but they still recognize government power.”
Besides the confusion about who is at the helm in Yemen, the rebels seized military installations it says it will return under the agreement.
Two Houthi field commanders told CNN that rebels had seized control of a massive weapons depot belonging to the government brigade that provides presidential personal security.
The Houthis had control of 280 T-80 Russian-made tanks and other heavy artillery, the field commanders said.
While most of the security forces reportedly fled after a light clash with militants, the Houthis said they captured at least 12 special forces soldiers.
On Wednesday, Houthi rebels surrounded a Yemeni missile brigade in Attan, a suburb east of Sanaa. The installation is not under control of the rebels, but they have it surrounded, the field commanders and two government officials said.
The Houthis said their objective is not to take over the missile brigade, but to keep missiles from being moved elsewhere.
Rumors that the rebels took over another military installation in Khawlan are not true, the sources said.
Victims of ‘false promises’
“We are the victims of corruption and false promises,” Houthi rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said Tuesday in a televised address on a network controlled by Houthis and based in Beirut, Lebanon. “The government did not respect the peace and partnership deal from September. We are trying to bring some legitimacy to the government.”
He complained of economic struggles and poverty. Al-Houthi also said there is an international conspiracy to link Yemen to the attacks in Paris.
AQAP claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack, and U.S. investigators have worked on the assumption that attacker Said Kouachi met the late terrorist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki at some point in Yemen and received orders from AQAP, a U.S. official told CNN. The Houthis and AQAP are adversaries in the long-running Sunni-Shiite conflict.
Tuesday’s developments came a day after heavy fighting between government forces and Houthis left nine people dead and 67 others injured, Yemen’s Health Ministry said.
U.S. Embassy vehicle comes under fire
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said there have been internal discussions about possible measures to protect U.S. officials working in the embassy in Sanaa. The safety of the staff is a top priority for the President and secretary of state, she said.
As of Wednesday, the operating status of the embassy had not changed. It has been on reduced staffing since September.
On Monday night, unknown assailants fired shots at a U.S. Embassy vehicle carrying U.S. diplomatic personnel in Sanaa, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday. No injuries were reported.
Two U.S. Navy warships moved into new positions in the Red Sea late Monday to be ready to evacuate Americans from the embassy if needed, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the planning told CNN.
Prolonged turmoil
Houthis swept into the capital last year, sparking battles that left more than 300 dead in a month. In September, they signed a ceasefire deal with the government, and Houthis have since installed themselves in key positions in the government and financial institutions.
But tensions flared again last weekend as Houthis said they abducted presidential Chief of Staff Ahmed bin Mubarak in Sanaa on Saturday. Osama Sari, senior media adviser to the Houthi movement in Yemen, said Houthis detained bin Mubarak because the President wanted to introduce a new constitution without the Houthis’ approval.
Ban and Mogherini both appealed Tuesday for his immediate release.