Yemen Houthi rebels tighten grip
February 6, 2015
Yemen's Shiite militia announced on Friday they had dissolved the country's parliament, and in a "constitutional declaration" installed a provisional 551-member national body to elect a five-member presidential council.
The Houthi militia, which overran Yemen's capital back in September, had earlier called on Yemen's three political factions to "fill the vacuum" that was created after the president, prime minister and cabinet quit last month.
The Houthis seized the presidential palace and key government buildings on January 20.
Internationally-recognized president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his cabinet are being held under house arrest. The rebels had given a deadline of Wednesday for Yemen's leaders to fill the current political void, or else they would begin to act unilaterally.
However, under Yemeni law, only the president can issue constitutional declarations.
US concern
The United States said it did not recognize the Houthi takeover of Yemen's government, with the declaration not meeting "the standards of a consensus based solution to Yemen's political crisis," said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.
"It's a very complicated and fluid situation on the ground," Harf said.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz said US counterterrorism operations in Yemen would continue uninterrupted.
jr/kms (dpa, AFP, AP)