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A Shiite rebel leader on Friday warned Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to form a new government in ten days or a “national salvation council” will take its place.
Ansarullah rebels, also known as Huthis, have taken advantage of a lack of stability since Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s overthrow in 2011 to capture capital city Sana’a on September 21st. Ever since, they have extended their influence in the western and central parts of the country.
The warning comes as rebels gathered in Sana’a at a meeting called by chief Abdulmalik al-Huthi; the meeting was attended by huthi backers, heads of allied tribes and supporters of deposed Saleh.
“We are giving President Hadi 10 days to form a government as provided under the peace agreement” reached on September 21 or “a national salvation council will be set up”, Sheikh Dheifallah Rassam, tribal chief from the northern rebel bastion Saada province, said.
Participants of the meeting denounced Hadi’s call for Huthis to “immediately pull out their armed men from all the cities and provinces (they seized) including Sanaa”.
Hadi accused the rebels of “trying to take over the role of the state under the pretext of fighting Al-Qaida in a bid to conquer more provinces”.
Rebels on Wednesday seized control of central city Radmah and a road connecting the cities of Aden and Sana’a.
The Ansarullah issued a statement after Friday’s meeting, saying, “Popular committees will be formed in all provinces… to control the actions of the state”.
The Huthis also defied the parliament, which on Thursday urged the police and the army to be deployed in the capital and other rebel-controlled parts of the country to re-establish security. The Huthis want more political clout in destitute Yemen, which is located next to oil-rich Saudi Arabia and important shipping routes in the Gulf of Aden.