Kerry praises Qatar for help in Yemen crisis
Washington: The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, yesterday praised Qatar for its help in trying to resolve the crisis in Yemen, amid hints the US is in contact with Shia rebels through go-betweens.
The Huthi militia on Sunday set a three-day deadline for political parties to resolve the power vacuum in Yemen left after the president and prime minister offered to resign last month.
The Huthis’ offensive when they seized the presidential palace and key government buildings on January 20, plunged the country deeper into crisis and prompted US-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his premier to tender resignations. It has complicated the US fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) branded by the US as one of Al Qaeda’s most dangerous branches.
During a meeting with Foreign Minister H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah at the State Department, Kerry said he was grateful for the “many ways in which Qatar, the Emir, and Dr Al Attiyah have made themselves available to be of assistance.
“Most recently, they were particularly helpful with respect to Yemen and our efforts in the last few days to deal with some of the adjustments necessary to what has been happening there.” Asked later at a forum at the Atlantic magazine premises, Dr Al Attiyah said, “We’ve been closely talking to our friends about the GCC initiative and how we can enhance the solution,” he said.
In 2011, the GCC urged the then president to sign a power transfer plan, ending Yemen’s political turmoil.
But the new crisis has raised fears that impoverished Yemen could become a failed state.
“Given the political uncertainty, it’s fair to say that US officials are in communication with parties in Yemen about what is a very fluid and complex political situation,” said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby.
“We have to take pains not to end up inflaming the situation by inadvertently firing on Huthi fighters,” a senior US official told The Wall Street Journal.
“They’re not our military objective. It’s AQAP and we have to stay focused on that.”
AFP
