Yemen rebels announce government takeover

Yemeni rebels have announced a new presidential council in a "constitutional declaration," forming a transitional national council to replace the resigned government.

In a televised statement on Friday from the Republican Palace in the capital of Sanaa, the Shia Houthi rebel group said that a five-member council would act as the president for an interim period and that "revolutionary Committees" have been tasked with forming a new 551-member Parliament.

However, the United Nations said that it would not acknowledge the announcement, describing it as an unilateral decision. Under Yemeni law, only the president can issue constitutional declarations.

The Houthi rebels, who are believed to backed by Iran, stormed into Sanaa from their northern stronghold of Saada in September 2014. They seized the presidential palace and key government buildings on January 22, prompting President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his prime minister to resign.

The rebels are currently keeping Hadi and his cabinet under house arrest and gave a Wednesday deadline for Yemen’s political parties to negotiate an acceptable way forward or else they would begin acting unilaterally.

The Houthis deployed armed men and pick-up trucks with anti-aircraft guns on main streets and around key institutionsm, and called on their supporters to take to the streets for evening celebrations.

The overthrow followed days of failed talks sponsored by Jamal Benomar, UN envoy to Yemen, who reportedly left Yemen for Saudi Arabia for talks on Friday.

According to politicians who attended the talks, the Houthis insisted on the formation of a presidential council with representatives from northern and southern Yemen.

Howver, Yemeni political parties in the talks demanded assurances that the formation of the council will be accompanied with a withdrawal of Houthi forces from key institutions and the release of Hadi and his cabinet members from house arrest.

Other parties called for the Yemeni parliament announce early elections, which the Houthis opposed, claiming that the new parliament was illegitimate and that its mandate had expired. Mohammed al-Sabri, a politician from ‘The Joint Meeting parties’ multi-party alliance described the Houthis' actions as a "coup," predicting it would lead to "international and regional isolation of Yemen".