Gulf states back Yemen president

Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE  Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, presiding over the GCC extraordinary ministerial meeting in Riyadh yesterday. Addressing  the meeting, al-Attiyah affirmed the necessity to support the Yemeni government represented in  President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.AFP/RiyadhGulf foreign ministers yesterday accused Shia militia in Yemen of attempting to stage a “coup” against President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a day after the Houthi fighters seized the presidential palace. “The states of the Gulf Co-operation Council consider what happened in Sanaa on Tuesday... a coup against the legitimate authority,” the ministers said in a statement following an emergency meeting in Riyadh. The GCC also expressed support for the “constitutionally legitimate authority” of Hadi, and rejected “all measures aimed at imposing change by force”.  It warned that Gulf states “would take all measures necessary to protect their security, stability and vital interests in Yemen”. The ministers offered to send a GCC envoy to Yemen for mediation if the Houthis withdrew from the presidential palace and other government buildings and freed Hadi’s abducted chief of staff Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak. They also called for the withdrawal of militiamen around Hadi’s residence in western Sanaa, and said current developments represent “a threat to international peace and security”. The meeting of ministers from Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman was hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah. Gulf countries had brokered an accord in November 2011 that eased former president Ali Abdullah Saleh out of office following a year of nationwide protests.  Page 11