Yemen`s neighbours urge forceful UN action over security

AFP, Sanaa :Yemen’s neighbours urged the UN Saturday to move forcefully over the deteriorating security situation, saying they will themselves act if the rival factions there do not resolve their differences.The call, at a meeting in Riyadh of the Gulf Cooperation Council, came as Shiite militiamen behind a power grab in Yemen fired live rounds to disperse thousands of protesters.Home to Al-Qaeda’s deadliest branch and a key US ally in the fight against the group, Yemen has descended into chaos since the militia, known as Huthis, seized Sanaa in September.Matters worsened last month when they ousted the government.Foreign ministers of the six GCC member countries urged the “UN Security Council to take a decision under Chapter Seven of the United Nations Charter”, which allows the use of military force if there are threats to peace.They also asked for an urgent meeting of the Arab League and of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.In a final communique, they called for immediate international steps to “guarantee the safety of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Mahfoudh Bahah as well as other officials” who have been under de facto house arrest since January.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that Yemen is falling apart and said the Western-backed Hadi should be restored to power. The GCC also called on world powers to reject a “constitutional declaration” by the Huthis a week ago, under which they dissolved the government and parliament and tightened their grip on power.They said they hope ongoing UN efforts in Yemen will lead to an agreement by all parties there based on “preserving legitimacy” and “resuming the political process”.Failing that, and without elaborating, they said they would take “measures that will enable them to preserve their vital interests in Yemen’s security and stability”.Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Yemenis demonstrated in several cities on Saturday against the rule of the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi movement as clashes between Houthis and Sunnis in a southern mountainous region left 26 dead.It was the second day of nationwide demonstrations against the Iranian-backed Houthis in less than a week after their dissolution of parliament this month unraveled security and sent Western and Arab embassies packing.Houthi gunmen fired on protesters in the central town of Ibb and wounded four, medics said.Activists said they were enraged by the death on Saturday of Saleh al-Bashiri, who they say was detained by gunmen as they broke up an anti-Houthi protest in Sanaa two weeks ago and was released to a hospital with signs of torture on his body on Thursday.