UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council on Sunday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding that Shiite rebels immediately relinquish control of Yemen’s government in a crisis that has pushed the Arab world’s poorest country near collapse.
Arab countries have been pressing for the use of military force against what they call the rebel group’s “illegitimate seizure of power.”
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But the resolution approved by all 15 council members at an emergency meeting does not act under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which would allow it to be militarily enforced.
The resolution, co-sponsored by 10 countries including the United States, demands that the Houthi rebels “immediately and unconditionally” withdraw forces from government institutions.
“It was clear the world was waiting for a powerful message from the U.N. Security Council,” British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told the council. “The Houthis must take responsibility for their actions and stop using violence and coercion as political tools.”
The Houthis’ takeover has raised alarms that the world’s most dangerous branch of al-Qaida, based in Yemen, would use the chaos to its advantage. The Houthis and the militant Sunnis of the al-Qaida branch are bitter rivals.
Worried that Shiite powerhouse Iran is backing the rebels, foreign ministers of the largely Sunni six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council on Sunday urged the Security Council to intervene. They warned that if the world fails to respond, they are prepared to take action on their own to maintain regional security and stability. They did not elaborate on what measures the group might take.
The Security Council resolution on Yemen also demands that the Houthis release U.S.-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his Cabinet from house arrest and engage “in good faith” in U.N.-led peace talks.
The GCC ministers also had demanded that the resolution impose sanctions against anyone “hampering the process of peaceful transition of power” and called for urgent action to ensure Hadi’s safety. The resolution only calls for “further steps” if the parties in Yemen fail to implement the resolution.
The GCC includes Yemen’s neighbors Saudi Arabia and Oman as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council Thursday that Yemen was “collapsing before our eyes.” The United States and several other countries closed their embassies in Yemen last week.
The resolution “strongly deplores” the Houthis’ actions to take over government institutions after grabbing control of the capital, Sanaa, in September. The rebels have dissolved the parliament, and Hadi resigned last month.
U.N.-led talks in Sanaa have made little ground, with envoy Jamal Benomar telling the Security Council on Thursday that Yemen is at a crossroads between “civil war and disintegration.”
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