Yemen's transition at stake as president, premier submit resignations

(Xinhua) Updated: 2015-01-23 09:09

Armed members of the Popular Committee stand on a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden January 22, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

The official Saba news agency reported that the parliament will be convened on Hadi's resignation on Sunday, two days delay as the parliament said earlier that its emergency session would be held on Friday.

United Nations envoy Jamal bin Omar who arrived in Sanaa on Thursday evening was meeting with Hadi on the current crisis, trying to convince Hadi to return to office.

The impoverish country has seen persistent unrest since 2011 when mass protests forced former president Ali Abdullash Saleh to step down, which prevented it from conducting parliamentary elections twice.

Hadi took over power from Saleh in 2012 under the Gulf Initiative but failed to implement reforms in the government and army, nor advance reconciliation among political factions.

Yemen has since been facing growing secessionism and al-Qaida networks in the south and armed groups including the powerful Houthi in the north.

POSSIBLE FRAGMENTATION

Right after Hadi and Bahah submitted their resignations, the pro-separatism movements, based in the southern province of Aden, started to defy orders from Sanaa, according to local media.

However, the Supreme Security Committee in Aden announced Wednesday that it closed the provincial city's seaport and international airport in support of the president.

"We strongly condemn Shiite Houthi militia's seizing of the presidential compound and attacks on the symbol of the national sovereignty and constitutional legitimacy, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi," the committee said in a statement.

The end of the political transition process in Yemen will trigger civil and sectarian conflicts amid increasing rejection to the Houthi's use of force as a way to rule the country, observers said.

Najeeb Ghalab, a politics professor at Sanaa University, said power vacuum will deepen and Houthis will use force as they used to face their foes and then conflicts and fragmentation of the country will be inevitable.

"We need a revolution today more than ever before. Only the people can stop the militia's ambitions," Ghalab added.

Muhammad of ABAAD said the power struggle since Monday has not ended with a coup against Hadi, but absence of the central authority would lead to dangerous power struggle between ex- president Saleh and the Houthi group, which may drag the country off the cliff.

"With the fall of the outcomes of the national dialogue conference, it will be difficult to see powerful political alliances and partnership again. Yemen will not see any breakthroughs and, with the current situation, we have conclusion that the international community does not have solutions to our crises," Muhammad said.