TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Yemeni crisis must be solved to curb expansion of terror network
Unless better sense prevails and all stakeholders choose the route of dialogue to address their differences, the impoverished state of Yemen could well plunge into anarchy
Change Size
U
nless better sense prevails and all stakeholders choose the route of dialogue to address their differences, the impoverished state of Yemen could well plunge into anarchy.
While confessional, tribal and regional divisions threaten Yemen's stability, unless efforts are made to bridge these divides, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, which has a strong foothold in the country, may well emerge as the biggest beneficiary of the chaos.
The political crisis intensified when the president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, resigned on Thursday, after the rebel Houthi militia surrounded the presidential palace.
The Zaydi militia ' based in the country's north ' swept into the capital Sana'a in September, and is perhaps the most powerful single political and militant group in Yemen.
Hadi, a US ally from the south, says the Houthis did not honour a peace deal while parliament is yet to accept his resignation.
Thousands of people have marched both in favour of and against the Houthis as Yemenis, as well as regional states, keep a close eye on developments in the hopes of a breakthrough.
There has been no reduction in rampant corruption and poverty ever since former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced from power in 2012 in a popular uprising. Many Yemenis thought the Houthis would usher in change, yet what has resulted is political gridlock and a collapsing state.
Regional states must make more of an effort to defuse the crisis before Yemen implodes.
While the Houthis ' Zaydi Shias by faith ' are believed to have some Iranian support, rival tribes apparently have Saudi backing.
Hence perhaps it is Riyadh and Tehran that need to actively engage on this front to address the crisis and urge their allies in Yemen to come to a negotiated settlement.
What needs to be realised by all in Yemen as well as the international community is that should the state collapse completely, AQAP will have the field wide open to plan and execute further acts of terror.
The militant outfit claimed responsibility for the Paris magazine killings while it is a staunch opponent of the Houthis, having attacked the militia as well as the Yemeni military.
The Houthis and their political rivals need to find common cause against AQAP and help preserve Yemen's unity.
Regional powers should also put aside geopolitical differences and use their influence to neutralise AQAP. In a region afflicted by wars and militant insurgencies, the terror network should not be given room to expand. (***)
