Arab states label Houthi takeover in Yemen a coup

Arab foreign ministers have criticised the Yemeni Houthi rebels’ “constitutional declaration” as a coup and reiterated their support for the legitimacy of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Anadolu has reported.

In a statement issued after their meeting on Monday at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, the ministers renewed their full commitment to preserving Yemen’s unity and standing by the Yemeni peoples’ aspirations for freedom, democracy and social justice. They rejected any interference in the country’s internal affairs.

Stressing support for Hadi’s “legitimacy and his national efforts to advance talks between the country’s different political components”, the ministers also condemned the Houthi move as “an attempt to impose the group’s will by force of arms on the Yemeni people and its institutions.”

The foreign ministers’ statement called on the Houthis to lift the house arrest of Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and his cabinet members and withdraw their “militants” from all state institutions. They welcomed an invitation by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz to host a conference under the umbrella of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States and those Yemeni political parties which want to preserve Yemen’s security and stability.

Last month, Shia Houthi rebels issued a “constitutional declaration” dissolving the parliament and establishing a 551-member transitional council. The declaration has been rejected widely by Yemen’s political parties.