The situation in Yemen is fast descending into further chaos. The resignation of its president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi last week has left the field clear for the Al Houthis to wreak more havoc in a country already beset by poverty, dwindling water resources, a divided military and the presence of Al Qaida of Arabian Peninsula. In abdicating his responsibility so hastily, Hadi has pushed Yemen into its worst crisis yet and only immediate help from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has the power to halt Yemen’s deteriorating political and social disorder.
The GCC, with its long-standing strategic partnership with Yemen, can be an influential and catalytic power to prevent Sana’a from becoming a regional flash point. Helping Yemen restart its stalled journey towards a reformed system of government is the first step in rebuilding a country that lies grievously fragmented. Another early priority for the GCC is to urgently consider the issue of Yemen’s inclusion as a member state in the GCC, a commitment made to the latter in 2006 and which has yet to be fulfilled.
With its strategic location and the shipping and oil routes passing through the Gulf of Aden, Yemen’s political vulnerability has severe implications for the region. The power vacuum left behind by Hadi, if not swiftly attended to, could well be filled by the Al Houthis, with the unambiguous backing of Iran. This must be prevented, at all costs, from becoming an inevitability.
