GCC condemns Houthis’ power grab in Yemen as a coup

People demonstrate against the dissolution of Yemen's parliament and the takeover by the armed Houthi group, in the southwestern city of Taiz, on Saturday. Reuters/Anees Mahyoub

Sanaa: The Gulf Cooperation Council has accused Yemen's minority sect Houthi rebels of staging a coup in Yemen after they announced they were dissolving parliament and forming a new government, Kuwait's official news agency said on Saturday.

The opposition of the GCC may signal growing isolation for Yemen. "This Houthi coup is a dangerous escalation which we reject and is unacceptable.

It totally contradicts the spirit of pluralism and coexistence which Yemen has known," the GCC was quoted as saying by KUNA news agency.

The GCC called the takeover a "threat...to the security and stability of the region and the interests of its people."

Yemen has been in political limbo since the president and prime minister resigned last month after the Houthis seized the presidential palace.

On Friday, the movement dissolved parliament and said it would set up a new interim government.
Abdel Malik Al Houthi, the group's leader, said on Saturday he was open to all parties playing a role in Yemen's future.

"Our hand is extended to every political force in this country... the space is open for partnership, cooperation and brotherhood and now everybody bears their responsibility for building, not destruction," he said in a televised speech.

But he warned: "Any move which targets this people, its economy, security or stability is unacceptable, and the great Yemeni people will confront any such conspiracies."

Yemen's instability has drawn international as the country is fighting one of the most formidable branches of Al Qaeda with the help of US drone strikes.

Tensions ran high in the capital on Saturday, with armed Houthis manning checkpoints near main government buildings.

A rudimentary bomb exploded outside the central Sanaa residence of the former prime minister, now home to Mohammed Al Houthi, a top official in the Houthi military wing.

Three minority sect militiamen were wounded, eyewitnesses said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but majority sect militants in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have repeatedly clashed with the Houthis, raising fears of an all-out sectarian war.

Separately, thousands of demonstrators gathered in three cities in central Yemen to protest against the Houthis seizing power.