Gulf FMs call for international intervention in Yemen

The foreign ministers of Gulf states on Saturday called on the United Nations (UN) Security Council to take decisions under the UN’s Chapter VII, allows for international military intervention in Yemen, Saudi media has reported.

During a meeting in Saudi capital Riyadh, the foreign ministers of Gulf Cooperation Council member states said they backed legitimate authorities in Yemen.

They also said that they opposed recent measures taken by Yemen’s Shiite Houthi group.

Saturday’s meeting was the second to be held by the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council on Yemen in less than a month.

On Jan. 20, the foreign ministers held an emergency meeting on Yemen too.

The meeting was held in the aftermath of clashes that took place outside the presidential palace in Yemeni capital Sanaa between presidential guards and Houthi militants.

Earlier this month, Yemen’s powerful Shia Houthi group issued a “constitutional declaration”, dissolving parliament and establishing a 551-member “transitional council” to lead the country.

The declaration was, however, rejected by most of Yemen’s political forces – along with some neighboring countries – which described it as a “coup” against “constitutional legitimacy.”

The Houthis seized control of Sanaa in September of 2014 and have since sought to expand their influence to other provinces farther afield.