Political Crisis Deepens in Yemen
Yemen was our focus for prayer a couple of days ago, and since then the political situation has worsened, with the president and prime minister of Yemen both resigning yesterday. This leaves a large political vacuum, with the Houthi rebels on high alert and certainly the dominant faction politically, although as yet they have not taken any official position.
A senior Yemeni official has stated that the Houthis had proposed the creation of an interim presidential council to run the country, but an alliance of other parties had rejected the idea. In addition, under the constitution, Parliament has to meet and accept the president’ resignation, which has not yet been done, but would appear to be simply a formality as the government collapses.
The fall of President Hadi’s government raises fears of chaos engulfing Yemen and of the country collapsing. This fear is further enhanced by the death of the Saudi King yesterday, who had a significant stabilising influence in Yemen.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated that he is “seriously concerned” by the developments and has called on all sides “to exercise maximum restraint and maintain peace and stability”.
- Pray for Yemen. For all parties involved in its politics to be willing to work together to bring about peace and stability.
- For restraint on the part of the Houtis rebels and Al Qaeda.
- For the political vacuum to be filled peacefully.
- For Christians to be light and salt, and to continue to hold fast to their faith in a God who is above all earthly kingdoms, and can be trusted no matter what the situation.
Source: Aljazeera.com
