Yemen’s turmoil ripples across region as embassies close

As Western diplomats and staff fled Yemen on Wednesday, concern widened over the increasing turmoil in the impoverished nation, with Saudi Arabia arming loyal tribesmen across its southern border and Egypt readying a military unit to intervene if needed. The U.S., British and French moved to close their embassies, signaling a belief that conditions in Yemen would only deteriorate further as the rebels, who have taken over in nearly half the provinces, try to expand their control.

The Houthis are spoiling for a fight, thinking that a battlefield victory will grant them a measure of legitimacy. So far, they have just been assaulting peaceful protesters in Sanaa and elsewhere who reject their rule.

Sarah Gamal, a Yemeni political activist

The region’s two most powerful Sunni nations, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, view the rise of the Houthis with alarm, seeing them as a new geopolitical triumph by non-Arab Iran after it consolidated its influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made it clear Wednesday that the Islamic Republic looks approvingly at events in Yemen. While Yemen has been in chaos for years, events took a dramatic new turn when the rebels, known as Houthis and suspected of being backed by Iran, took over the capital last fall and have spread over more of the country.

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