UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council was set to meet in emergency session Sunday evening to vote on a resolution demanding that Shiite rebels relinquish control of Yemen's government, as Arab countries pressed for the use of military force against what they call the rebel group's "illegitimate seizure of power."
A takeover by the Houthi rebels has put the Arab world's poorest country in danger of collapse and raised alarms that the world's most dangerous branch of al-Qaida, based in Yemen, would use the chaos to its advantage. The Houthis and the militant Sunnis of the al-Qaida branch are bitter rivals.
Worried that Shiite powerhouse Iran is backing the rebels, foreign ministers of the largely Sunni six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council on Sunday urged the Security Council to intervene. They warned that if the world fails to respond they are prepared to take action on their own to maintain regional security and stability. They did not elaborate on what measures the group might take.
A Security Council draft resolution on Yemen, obtained Saturday by The Associated Press, demands that the Houthis "immediately and unconditionally" withdraw forces from government institutions, release U.S.-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his Cabinet from house arrest and engage "in good faith" in U.N.-led peace talks.
But that draft falls short of what the GCC would like. The GCC ministers said Sunday they wanted a U.N. resolution that would allow for the use of military force "over the Houthis' illegitimate seizure of power."
They also demanded that the resolution impose sanctions against anyone "hampering the process of peaceful transition of power" and called for urgent action to ensure Hadi's safety. The draft only calls for "further steps" if the parties in Yemen fail to implement the resolution.
The GCC includes Yemen's neighbors Saudi Arabia and Oman as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council on Thursday that Yemen was "collapsing before our eyes," and Jordan and Britain quickly began working on a draft resolution. The United States and several other countries closed their embassies in Yemen last week.
The draft "strongly deplores" the Houthis' actions to take over government institutions after grabbing control of the capital, Sanaa, in September. The rebels have dissolved the parliament, and Hadi resigned last month.
U.N.-led talks in Sanaa have made little ground, with envoy Jamal Benomar telling the Security Council on Thursday that Yemen is at a crossroads between "civil war and disintegration." He said the political uncertainty has pressured the local currency, the riyal, near the possibility of collapse.
The draft resolution demands that all parties in Yemen "cease all armed hostilities against the people and the legitimate authorities of Yemen and relinquish the arms seized from Yemen's military and security institutions." It also calls on U.N. member states to "refrain from external interference which seeks to foment conflict and instability."
Yemeni officials say Saudi Arabia, a staunch U.S. ally, was sending arms and funds to tribesmen in Yemen's Marib province to bolster them against the rebels. Saudi Arabia, which shares its southern border with Yemen, has not commented about the claims it is arming or funding tribesmen there to fight the Shiite rebels.
Egypt has set up a special rapid deployment force that could intervene if the Houthis threaten shipping lanes in the strategic Red Sea, according to Egyptian security officials. The Egyptians and Saudis are coordinating a joint military response to deal with any eventuality in Yemen, including the disruption of shipping through the corridor that runs past Yemen to Egypt's Suez Canal, the officials said. The officials in both Yemen and Egypt spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
