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Houthis seek to restore their ally Al-Beidh to South Yemen

October 10, 2014 at 1:23 pm

The Houthis in Yemen are pressing the army and the security forces to evacuate the home of former President of South Yemen Ali Salim Al-Beidh in Aden in preparation for his return from Beirut where he now lives, Arabi21 reported.

Al-Beidh is considered one of the allies of the Houthis in Yemen. They count on him to help them reign over the country. Both the Houthis and the Iranians are convinced that dominating the whole of Yemen will be tough.

The former president has been living in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for a long time in coordination with Hezbollah. It is believed that he has been living in the Southern District as a guest of the Lebanese Hezbollah and that he communicates regularly with Iran via its representatives there.

According to information obtained by an Arabi21 correspondent, the Houthis aspire to reign over the whole of Yemen in cooperation with Al-Beidh who would take charge of Aden and the neighbouring towns where he enjoys strong influence.

However, Yemeni sources have informed Arabi21 that should the Houthis be unable to achieve this they would prefer Yemen be re-divided in order to rid themselves of the heavy Sunni concentration in the south.

A source that spoke to an Arabi21 correspondent in Sanaa said that the Houthis realise that seizing control over the whole of the country would not be possible because they do not possess a majority and would therefore prefer to rid themselves of the south which is inhabited by an overwhelming Sunni majority.

There have been no statements released by Al-Beidh or any of his close associates since the Houthis take control of Sanaa, prompting many to believe that he does support the group’s actions and may have had prior knowledge of what was happening.