One day after a ceasefire was agreed to in Yemen between Shiite Houthi rebels and government forces, a coup appears to have taken place, with the government surrendering the Presidential palace to the Houthis. Earlier, a U.S. Embassy vehicle had been fired upon but the Obama administration insists that there will be no evacuation of U.S. personnel and that business at the Embassy will be conducted as normal.
In one report:
Yemen’s presidential palace has been completely taken over by Shiite Houthi rebels, the country’s Minister of Information Nadia Sakkaf told CNN on Tuesday amid reports of renewed clashes.
Sakkaf said the Prime Minister’s residence was also under attack from the street.
She called the situation “the completion of a coup,” adding that “the President has no control.”
Fighting was earlier reported around the presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa, a day after heavy fighting between government forces and Houthis — Shiite Muslims who have long felt marginalized in the majority Sunni Muslim country — ended in a ceasefire deal.
Nine people were killed and 67 others injured in the fighting between government forces and Houthi militants on Monday, Yemen’s Health Ministry said, before the sides agreed to a ceasefire.
Unknown assailants fired shots Monday night at a U.S. Embassy vehicle in Sanaa, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday.
Despite assurances by the U.S. State Departement that there are no evacuation plans and that business will be conducted as normal, Americans at the Embassy are preparing to evacuate nonetheless. Reuters is already reporting that Houthis have overtaken the Palace:
France 24 is corroborating these reports:
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen is not unfamiliar with Muslim unrest. As Shoebat.com reported in November, there were indications then that the Embassy may have to be abandoned.
Several months ago, Shoebat.com warned of the Houthis and how this group would do the bidding of Iran in places like Yemen:
The average American was never told the truth, which is, that their nation, the United States, has inadvertently encouraged Islamic fundamentalists, be it Sunni or Shiite, to divide the Arab region and allowed Iran to soon get paid for its harlotry and dominate Iraq, Syria and Yemen, via the Houthis.
The Houthies in Yemen are to be watched. Yemen is in the mix of biblical proclamations, and if in doubt, see biblical Teman and how its an important piece of the prophetic equation.
And of course, the one country that is more than just a little uncomfortable with the Houthis taking over Yemen is none other than Saudi Arabia, which is increasingly being surrounded by enemies, as Shoebat.com reported.
Yemen is a place Obama pointed to in his now infamous “ISIL is not Islamic” speech as a place where his policy has succeeded.
In this Naked Gun video metaphor, the guy riding the rocket represents the Yemeni government; Leslie Nielson’s character represents the Obama administration; and the onlookers represent Embassy employees: