As officials in the eastern province of Shabwa confirmed on Monday that clashes took place in between secessionist militants and the armed forces, tribal sources spoke of renewed violence in Arhab, located directly north of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, opposing the Houthis and local tribesmen affiliated to al-Islah, Yemen’ Sunni radical faction.
With violent armed confrontations taking place both north and south of Yemen, the impoverished nation seems ever more on the brink of collapse, only days after the international community hailed its National Dialogue Conference a “historical success” and testament of Yemenis’ dedication to democracy.
Armed only with a political and institutional timetable and no real practical solutions, President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, whose presidential term, has been de facto extended ad vitam eternam since attached to the resolution of Yemen’s power transfer; faces the same demons: insecurity, political instability and calls for secession, as he did on the onset of the NDC.
Officials in Sana’a confirmed this Monday that clashes first broke out in the early hours of the morning in Arhab where Houthi militants have allegedly attacked Salafi positions as to regain ground on the group and secure a foothold on the outskirts of Sana’a. Although President Hadi imposed a truce on the two warring factions earlier this month, sporadic clashes have threatened to lay waste all peace efforts in the northern highlands.
Arahb tribesmen have been adamant the Houthis are to blame for the violence as they claim they are waging “a terrorist invasion” upon their lands in order to impose their School of thought: Shia Islam, upon the region.