Houthi’s Announce the Formation of a New Government in Yemen

In what appears to be a blow to UN-backed efforts to end 20 months of war, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and their political allies, have formed a new government.

The Supreme Political Council, a body through which the Houthi’s have been ruling parts of Yemen, announced the new government on Monday.

“The [Council] meeting stressed that the government, which was formed amid the difficult conditions experienced by the country, is tasked with putting in order the internal situation and confronting the aggression,” the Houthi run, Saba news agency reported.

“The Council noted that this comes amid the intransigence of the aggression and its [Yemeni] mercenaries to move within the framework of a national solution … to spare the country further bloodshed and destruction.”

Rajeh Badi, a spokesperson for the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, said the move showed “a disregard, not just for the Yemeni people, but also for the international community”.

“It’s been over a year and a half since the Houthi militia’s coup, no one in the international community has recognised the entities they have formed,” Badi added.

Diplomats had hoped the Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa, would hold off on putting together a cabinet of their loyalists, and instead form a unity government with their Yemeni oppostion, whom they pushed into Saudi exile.

The Houthis, who control territory with more than half of Yemen’s population, previously said that forming a government with their allies did not mean abandoning the UN-sponsored peace process.

Meanwhile, Yemeni security and medical officials said at least 13 civilians, including women and children, were killed on Saturday in an air strike by the Saudi-led military coalition near the western port city of Hodeida.

More than 7,000 people have been killed and nearly 37,000 wounded in the 20-month conflict, according to the UN.

• Pray for Yemen, a country divided by almost 2 years of civil war.
• Pray for a good and just solution to government in this nation, and for a continuation of peace talks despite the formation of a Houthi government.
• Pray for the people of Yemen, many of whom face food shortages, lack access to clean water and have no medical facilities. Pray for aid to be allowed to be delivered to those who most need it, especially with the oncoming winter.
• Pray for believers in Yemen, many of whom have to remain silent about their faith. Pray for opportunities for encouragement, for access to the Bible in their own language, and for their faith to be a light in the darkness that shrouds this troubled land.

Nehemiah 1 vs 11: “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. “

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news