Yemen’s Houthi rebels have refused international demands to surrender all power over the Yemeni government, saying they will not respond to foreign attempts to “blackmail” them.
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution demanding that the Houthis withdraw all troops from the Yemeni capital and immediately engage in UN-led talks to decide on the future government.
The last regime change, during the Arab Spring, saw military dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh replaced with military dictator Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was “elected” in a UN mandated vote in which no one else was permitted to run.
The Houthis have been pushing for democratic reform, and eventually forced Hadi from office over debates on a new constitution. They have since promised to set up a presidential council to manage the country until fresh elections, and say that Yemen must determine its own future free of external pressure.
