Shi'ite militia chief Abdel Malek al-Houthi has defended the formation of a "presidential council" which consolidates his power as serving the interests of all Yemenis and their Gulf neighbours.
"This historic and responsible initiative is in the interest of the country ... because it fills a political vacuum," he said in a televised address to his supporters gathered in a northern Sanaa stadium on Saturday.
He said it was "in the interest of all Yemenis without exception", including the separatists of southern Yemen.
The formation of the council, announced on Friday and which he leads, would also head off the threat from al-Qaeda which has a strong presence in east and south Yemen, Houthi said.
"If al-Qaeda takes control of the country, it will plot against our brothers in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf," he warned, in apparent response to condemnation of his Shi'ite militia's actions.
The Shi'ites, known as Houthis after their leadership, dissolved parliament to create the "presidential council".
Yemen's Gulf neighbours on Saturday condemned the moves which they said "totally undermine" international and regional efforts to help resolve the impoverished country's political crisis.
"The Houthi coup marks a grave and unacceptable escalation ... and endangers the security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen," said the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The six Sunni monarchies said their own security was linked to that of their neighbour Yemen, and vowed to take "all the necessary measures to defend their interests", without elaborating.
The Shi'ite militia overran Sanaa in September and seized the presidential palace and key government buildings last month, prompting Western-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Bahah to tender their resignations.
In an announcement on Saturday, the Houthis said Hadi's defence minister, General Mahmud al-Subaihi, would chair a newly formed security commission, which also included the outgoing interior minister.
Influential tribal leaders in the oil-rich eastern province of Marib have said they "rejected the authors of this coup".
And a US official at a security conference in Munich said Washington and its GCC allies "don't agree" with the Houthi "presidential council".
UN Security Council president Liu Jieyi said its 15 members were ready to "take further steps" if UN-brokered negotiations to resolve Yemen's political crisis were not resumed "immediately".
Share
