Date: Mon Dec 8 18:13:55 2014
Yemeni insurgents storm Hudaydah governor's office: source
Governor resigns after Houthis order him to bring its members into
provincial administration
Written by : <http://www.aawsat.net/author/arafat-madabish> Arafat Madabish
on : Monday, 8 Dec, 2014
Sana'a, Asharq Al-Awsat-Houthi militants stormed the office of the governor
of Al-Hudaydah in western Yemen on Sunday, a security source told Asharq
Al-Awsat, as chaos and instability continued to grip the Arabian Peninsula's
poorest country.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, a security
source told Asharq Al-Awsat that several Houthi militants stormed the office
of Al-Hudaydah governor Sakhr Al-Wajih on Sunday after evicting his security
guards.
The militants forced the governor to sign documents that gave official force
to several of their demands, including the approval of all government
payments by the office of Ansar Allah-a militant group affiliated with the
Houthis-in the city, and the integration of as many as 4,000 of its members
into the security and military forces of the governorate.
They also asked the governor to replace some provincial officials with their
figures from their group, the source added.
According to the source, the governor said he would have to consult with the
presidency in Sana'a and higher authorities before taking any measures.
According to reports, Wajih subsequently resigned from his post.
An UN-brokered agreement signed between President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and
the Houthis in September stipulated the integration of the group's militants
into the security and military establishments, in exchange for refraining
from engaging in violence and withdrawing from the Sana'a.
Over the past month, the Yemeni presidency has been flooded with thousands
of requests from Houthi militants in Sa'ada, the group's stronghold in the
north, and Hudaydah, requesting to be integrated into the ranks of the
country's armed forces and security services.
Meanwhile, a senior tribal leader and MP from the city of Amran, Sheikh
Sagheer bin Aziz, survived an assassination attempt in the Tahrir Street in
the north of Sana'a on Sunday. A number of the Sheikh's guards were killed
and injured in the attack. The perpetrators have yet to be identified.
In a new sign of the government's loosening grip over the country,
eyewitnesses who also requested anonymity told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sana'a
International Airport has become completely under the control of Houthi
insurgents.
The Houthis, a largely Shi'ite movement which follows Abdel-Malik Al-Houthi
overran almost all of government and military buildings in Sana'a in
September following a month-long rally over alleged discrimination by the
central government against the country's Shi'ite minority.
Faced with little or no government resistance, the insurgent group has
spread from its stronghold in the north, taking over key western and central
cities and drawing criticism from the country's radical Sunni groups,
including Al-Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula (AQAP), which has launched
several lethal bomb attacks on the Houthis and their supporters.
<http://www.aawsat.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Houthis.jpg> Shi'ite
Houthi rebels chant slogans as they ride in a pickup truck at the army's
First Armored Division compound after taking it over, in Sana'a, Yemen, on
Monday, September 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Shi'ite Houthi rebels chant slogans as they ride in a pickup truck at the
army's First Armored Division compound after taking it over, in Sana'a,
Yemen, on September 22 2014. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)