Uncertainty in Capital as Talks on Yemeni President’s Resignation Cancelled

Parliament Session Abruptly Scrapped, Officials Blame Houthi Rebels

Sunday’s “emergency” session of parliament on Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s resignation was cancelled at the last minute, following a walkout in behind-the-scenes negotiations by the pro-Hadi parties.

The parliamentary parties accused the Houthi rebels of reneging on a secret agreement to reject Hadi’s resignation, a claim that was not directly answered by the Houthis.

After this, the parliamentary session was scrapped quickly, with some MPs from the same parties claiming the Houthis weren’t letting anyone into parliament, while others said the parliamentary president was simply not back from a visit to Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis have effectively full control over the capital of Sanaa, and much of the rest of the country’s west. The resignation of President Hadi and his cabinet came amid stalemated negotiations over the draft constitution, which led to clashes between the Houthis and the prime minister’s security forces.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.