Yemen’s GCC call

The Houthis, the state-centric beleaguered army and the Al Qaeda-cum-Daesh have their axe to grind, which has slid the country into anarchy and bloodshed. The rise of Houthis, though surprising, is now one of the most debatable issues of geopolitics in the region. The Arab world’s most populous country cannot go on like this, as the Western support to push back Al Qaeda and the like also seems to have ended in doldrums. That is why apparently Yemen’s 

Foreign Minister Riad Yassin has called for the Gulf Cooperation Council support, in an earnest attempt to save the country from being completely Balkanised at the hands of the Houthis and Al Qaeda.

The rivalry between the militias, with the Zaidi-Houthis being allegedly backed by Iran, has posed grave dangers, and that cannot simply whither away with the passage of time. The first response to come, as Sanaa sought militaristic support from the GCC, was from Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal, who took it as a challenge and warned that the six-nation organisation cannot sit on the fences for long. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, who have adopted a proactive role in the crises, especially in fighting the Daesh in Libya, Egypt and elsewhere, will have to seriously study the Houthi factor and respond to the exigency.

The best way to go, taking into account the history and political crisscross of the embattled country, is to reinitiate the dialogue process under the United Nations aegis, and help broker a ceasefire and a subsequent political accord. The heterogeneous composition of Yemen cannot be fought militaristically, and it has to have a political solution sooner than later.