[Breaking news update, published at 12:41 p.m. ET]
Yemen’s Prime Minister and Cabinet have resigned, government representative Rajeh Badi said Thursday — a move that comes a day after the government and Houthi rebels reached a tentative peace deal meant to end days of turmoil.
“The Prime Minister and Cabinet resignation is a final decision and will not change,” Badi said.
[Original story, published at 7:27 a.m. ET]
Yemen minister: Kidnapped aide still held by rebels in breach of peace deal
Rebels in Yemen have yet to release a kidnapped senior aide to the President, Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf said Thursday, despite it being a key provision of a tentative peace deal meant to end days of turmoil.
The Houthi rebels — Shiite Muslims who have long felt marginalized in the majority Sunni country — kidnapped presidential Chief of Staff Ahmed bin Mubarak in the capital, Sanaa, on Saturday. The rebels then took over the presidential palace Tuesday, prompting talk of a coup.
The chaos in Yemen is cause for concern far beyond the country’s borders. For the United States and its allies, 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 such as the recent slaughter at French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The tentative deal reached Wednesday called for bin Mubarak’s release, as well as measures to give the Houthis more political power, according to a Yemeni official with access to a draft text of the agreement.
But Sakkaf questioned Thursday whether the rebels would live up to their side of the pact.
“Ahmed Mubarak is still #Houthis hostage despite deal. They got what they want why should they fulfill their promise?” she said on Twitter.
She added, “I have been following up the promises to release Dr. Ahmed bin Mubarak since the beginning. Conclusion: Buying time.”
Power vacuum concerns
Mistrust is hampering the implementation of the peace deal, both sides said Thursday.
One Yemeni presidential adviser told CNN the government was waiting for the Houthis to release bin Mubarak — and they have not — but acknowledged that the rebels have withdrawn some forces.
Ahmed Al Bahri, a Houthi official, said that they were unsure of how serious President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi was about the deal, and that they were keeping 20% of their militia numbers in the presidential palace and other key buildings as a guarantee.
Questions about who’s in charge over the past few days have sparked concerns that a power vacuum could help terrorist groups get a stronger foothold.
Besides the Charlie Hebdo attack, AQAP also tried to blow up a plane landing in Detroit in 2009. ISIS is also recruiting in Yemen to expand its ranks.
Constitutional changes
Under the peace deal, the Houthi rebels agreed to withdraw their militias from key government institutions if officials take a significant step: rewriting parts of the country’s constitution, according to the Yemeni official.
Under its terms, the government would accept changes in the draft of the new constitution that would grant the Houthis more political power.
Word of the deal still leaves many questions unanswered: What could the reshaped constitution look like? How much power will the rebels get? And how much control will the President have?
Nonetheless, the agreement could signal a return to stability, said Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington.
“The situation is fluid. It’s critical. The government was paralyzed. Parts of the government (were) dysfunctional, but we did not reach the point of no return,” he told CNN’s “The Situation Room.”
“Things are difficult, but there are things that are moving forward.”
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, where they control or blockade several government installations: the presidential palace, the presidential residence, the Prime Minister’s residence and a military installation where missiles are housed.
A Houthi official said the rebels would abide by the deal if the President follows a timeline specified in the negotiations for the political process.
This isn’t the first time the rebels and the government have hammered out an agreement.
Houthis swept into the capital last year, sparking battles that left more than 300 people 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.
