I arrived in Yemen days after a group of Houthi rebels took control of the capital in January. They forced the president and cabinet to resign, and many of them, in mismatched army uniforms, tried to bolster their tenuous authority, rallying their supporters and setting up checkpoints around the capital, Sana.
Some of the fighting between the Houthis and the government’s frayed security forces, which started last fall, had subsided, but a renewed sense of uncertainty permeated the capital as different political groups contended for influence in a new government.
The Houthis, who are a Shiite sect with backing from Iran, confront increasing opposition from Sunni tribes allied with the former president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and a revived separatist movement in the south. Amid the general instability, there are rising fears that the country’s branch of Al Qaeda, which is already entrenched in parts of the south, or an even more fearsome strand of extremists, could grow stronger.
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The Houthis have said they intend to establish a representative government and fight systemic corruption, but many in Yemen remain skeptical. State institutions are frail, and the government has failed to meet some of the most basic needs. Across the capital, residents must endure shortages of running water, fuel and electricity. People regularly say they have grown accustomed to the sporadic outbreaks of violence and general political dysfunction.
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Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1DXZk4s
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