YEMEN'S HOUTHI GROUP TAKE OVER GOVERNMENT IN COUP

The Shia group stormed the presidential palace and key government buildings on January 22. (Photo: Reuters) — **The Shia group stormed the presidential palace and key government buildings on January 22.** (Photo: Reuters)

Sanaa, 17 Rabi’ul Akhir 1436/7 February 2015 (MINA) – Yemen’s Shia Houthi armed group have announced that they have dissolved parliament and installed a five-member “presidential council” which will form a transitional government to govern for two years.

In a televised statement on Friday from the Republican Palace in the capital, Sanaa, the group said that it would set up a transitional national council of 551 members to replace the dissolved legislature, Al Jazeera quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The “constitutional declaration”, attended by tribal and military representatives as well as by the outgoing interior and defence ministers, came after a Wednesday deadline set by the group for political parties to resolve the crisis passed with no agreement.

The UN said that it would not acknowledge the announcement made on Friday afternoon, calling it a unilateral decision. The US said it was “deeply concerned” by the developments in the country, saying that the move by the Houthis did not meet the standards set by the UN envoy to Yemen.

The Houthi rebels moved into Sanaa from their northern stronghold of Saada in September last year seeking a broader political partnership in running the country.

They seized the presidential palace and key government buildings on January 22, prompting President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his prime minister to tender their resignations.

Hadi and his cabinet are being held under house arrest by the rebels.

Under Yemeni law, only the president can issue constitutional declarations. (T/P001/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)