Yemen warns against foreign support for Houthi rebels

Yemeni President Mansour Hadi warned against foreign intervention in his country on Saturday, as tense talks between government officials and Shiite Houthi rebels appeared to reach a deadlock.

He also said that Yemenis are ready to defend their homes with firearms.

“Weapons are prevalent among everyone, and they will protect their homes, their rights and their sanctity”, Hadi said as he met with senior members of a delegation from Hizaz, just south of the capital Sanaa.

Hadi warned that the current upheaval could be the result of foreign forces operating in Yemen, saying that the Houthi rebellion is due to foreign states attempting to establish “regional hegemony.”

A press release issued on Saturday by ambassadors from the G10 states echoed Hadi’s concerns.

The group, which includes ambassadors from the US, the UK, France and Japan, said it is “looking carefully at suggestions that elements from other domestic political forces…are fuelling instability”, and “cautions against any attempts from outside of Yemen” to support destabilising forces in the country.

In the statement, the group condemned threats by the Houthi rebels to “overthrow the Yemeni government”.

A Houthi spokesperson on Sunday condemned the statement from the G10 nations, saying it had taken negotiations with the Yemeni authorities "back to square one."

The rebels claim that seven protestors were shot dead from above by Yemeni army soldiers using live ammunition during Wednesday’s clashes.

In this tense atmosphere, ceasefire talks are continuing between the government and Houthi rebels, who are demanding an end to unpopular cuts to fuel subsidies and the dismantling of the current government, which the rebels claim is corrupt.

The government has already agreed a 30 percent cut to fuel prices and the swearing-in of a new technocratic prime minister in place of current incumbent Mohammed Basindawa.

However, the talks have stumbled over when exactly these demands will be implemented, according to Al-Jazeera.

President Hadi has said he will sign once rebels withdraw completely from their protest camps around the capital, while Houthis refuse to leave Sanaa until the agreements have been implemented.

As talks appeared to falter, Houthi supporters circulated a photograph appearing to show military officers stationed at Shuaib Mountain, some 40 kilometres south-west of the capital, declaring their allegiance to the Houthi movement.

Securing the support of officers at the Shuaib Mountain base would be a victory for Houthi rebels, as the site overlooks the capital and the headquarters of Yemen’s air force.

To the east of the capital, Yemeni military aircraft on Saturday struck several sites of armed Houthi rebels in the province of Ma'rib, a local official told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity.