In Sanaa, row between allies continues to escalate

By Mohammed al-Samei and Zakaria al-Kamaali

SANAA

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People's Congress (GPC) on Thursday sharply criticized the Shia Houthi militia group amid mounting tensions between the two allies.

At a rally marking the GPC’s 35th anniversary in Sanaa’s Al-Sabeen Square, party Secretary-General Arif al-Zouka said GPC refused to be a “junior partner” in its alliance with the Houthis against the Saudi-backed government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Al-Zouka also called for achieving what he described as an “honorable peace” in Yemen, which has been dogged by conflict for almost three years.

He went on to assert that his party’s alliance with the Houthis was “intended to maintain the internal front, not for narrow interests or spoils of war”.

Recent weeks have seen tensions mount between the two allies, with the Houthis accusing the GPC of holding secret talks with a Saudi-led coalition that is fighting to shore up Hadi’s embattled government, which currently uses Yemen’s coastal city of Aden as an interim headquarters.

The GPC, for its part, has accused the Shia militia group of monopolizing Yemen’s state media organs.

Other disputes that have arisen between the two allies involve the GPC’s contributions to the ongoing fighting, representation in peace consultations, judicial issues and educational curricula.

At Thursday’s rally, al-Zouka also said that Yemen’s Houthi-appointed ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the son of ex-President Saleh, had been illegally detained by the UAE authorities.

The UAE is a leading member of the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi-GPC alliance.

Anadolu Agency was unable to obtain immediate comment from UAE officials regarding al-Zouka’s assertions.

Al-Zouka also called on Yemen’s National Salvation Government to pay overdue public-sector salaries and step up the fight against administrative corruption.

Established in capital Sanaa by the Houthis and the GPC, the National Salvation Government has not been recognized by the international community.

In an apparent escalation, Houthi militiamen stopped hundreds of vehicles carrying Saleh supporters from reaching Sanaa to participate in Thursday’s rally, local sources -- speaking anonymously due to security concerns -- told Anadolu Agency.

Impoverished Yemen has remained in a state of war since 2014, when the Houthis and their pro-Saleh allies overran vast swathes of the country, including Sanaa, forcing Hadi’s government to set up an interim capital in Aden.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and supporting Hadi’s government.

According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict to date.