Houthis try to reassure skeptics they won’t seek full control of Yemen, as Saudis eye exit

By Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN

Yemen’s Houthi rebels are not interested in spreading tyranny in the country and are willing to share power with other political factions if a permanent ceasefire with Saudi Arabia is reached, a top Houthi official has said.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, member of the Supreme Political Council and former head of Yemen’s Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, said that other Yemeni factions have nothing to fear in case of a withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, promising an inclusive form of governance.

“If we were not looking for full control during the war, then we will not look for full control at any other time,” al-Houthi told CNN.

His attempts at reassurance will likely be viewed skeptically by the Houthis’ rivals, and come amid concerns from other stakeholders that a truce with Saudi Arabia will give the heavily-armed Iran-backed rebels free rein to take over the entire country.

Yemen’s conflict began as a civil war in 2014, when Houthi forces stormed the capital Sanaa and toppled the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government. It spiraled into a wider war in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an attempt to beat back the Houthis. Eight years later, the coalition has been unable to dislodge the rebels, who have fired hundreds of rockets toward Saudi cities in retaliation. The war has sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving thousands dead and pushing parts of the country into famine.

A Saudi delegation arrived in Sanaa on Sunday for talks with the Houthis aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire. And on Friday, negotiations bore their biggest fruits yet with the beginning of a three-day prisoner swap of nearly 900 detainees from both sides. Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam tweeted on Friday that talks had been “serious and positive.”

Saudi Arabia has begun mending ties with old foes of late, namely Iran, Syria and now Yemen’s Houthis as it redirects its focus on economic growth at home, which requires regional stability.

“Saudi Arabia currently needs stability on its southern border and to (eliminate) threats to it from Houthis and others,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, adding that it will transform its role in Yemen from a military one to one of soft power.

Al-Houthi told CNN the group is willing to share power and resources with the Yemeni people. “We do not want to tyrannize anything,” he said, adding that it is keen to speak to other Yemeni factions and work with them to achieve what is in their interests and “in the interest of the public.”

Escalating the civil war

Experts have argued that a Saudi deal with the Houthis that does not address the pre-existing political problems among Yemen’s disparate groups will only end the international dimension of the war and could escalate the civil conflict.

Other factions, especially the internationally recognized government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) that controls parts of the south, may find al-Houthi’s promises difficult to believe, experts say, as all other stakeholders in the conflict — including the United Nations — have been excluded from the current Houthi-Saudi talks.

CNN has reached out to the Saudi government for comment.

“What (al-Houthi) means by Yemen’s interests is recognizing the Houthis as the only legitimate authority to rule the country,” Nadwa Al-Dawsari, a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, told CNN. “What he means is that the Houthis have no intention of forcefully taking over Yemen if all other parties accept to be subordinates to the Houthis in any future arrangements.”

The STC, she said, is heavily dependent on the UAE’s support and if that ends with the withdrawal of foreign forces, they don’t have a great chance to stand up to the Houthis, “who have much more sophisticated weapons, fighting experience, training, and (Iranian) commanders helping them.”

The STC didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment but has said previously that it stands by its rejection of a Houthi-controlled Yemen. The group has demanded a split of the country into north and south.

The Houthi leader told CNN he expected Saudi Arabia to ensure the departure of all foreign forces, including the UAE, from the country.”Our real demand is the exit of all foreign forces from the Republic of Yemen,” he said. “There is no complete resolution that can be reached unless all occupying forces leave the Yemeni republic, and this includes all islands and other areas.”

The UAE is a member of the Saudi-led coalition but partially withdrew its troops from Yemen in 2019. Abu Dhabi nonetheless retains strong influence over Yemen’s south.

Al-Dawsari said Abu Dhabi and Riyadh may not see eye to eye on the future of Yemen, but the UAE has repeatedly said that it supports Saudi Arabia’s efforts in the country. On Monday, a senior UAE official told CNN that the UAE “supports current efforts by Saudi Arabia to bring a political solution to the crisis, to bring peace and a permanent end to hostilities between all the various Yemen parties.”

War compensation

Mohamed Ali al-Houthi told CNN that talks with the Saudis haven’t included “political things,” insisting that Riyadh instead focus on meeting the group’s demands such as removing the blockade on ports, opening Yemen’s airspace and paying the salaries of public sector employees.

Internal matters, including demands by the STC for the south of the country to secede, will be dealt with “in the future,” he said. The STC will be given “what is rightful (to them),” he said, but not more. He did not rule out a separation of the south but stressed that any solutions to the “southern issue” must be taken without foreign influence.

Al-Houthi repeatedly stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia meeting the group’s “humanitarian demands,” referring to a compensation package that would have Riyadh pay for the rebuilding of the country and the salaries of public sector workers.

The discussions remain secretive, and it is unclear how much compensation the Houthis have demanded, but experts expect it to be substantial. The Houthis have said in the past that it is seeking compensation for 1.3 million public employees and that the war has led to a cut in salaries and other expenses of nearly 95%, according to Houthi media. But some experts are concerned that the Houthis would use the money to pay its militia members.

“Even if the Saudis agree to pay the salaries, we have no clear image of what that might look like,” Nagi said, adding that the internationally recognized government may also require payments.

Even if a Saudi-Houthi deal is reached, there’s no guarantee that other Yemeni factions will accept it, experts say.

“Based on what we see, it is clear that those who are negotiating are closer to winning,” Nagi said, “While those who are excluded from the talks are closer to losing.”

Correction: This story has been updated to more accurately characterize al-Houthi’s comments on the group’s demand that all foreign forces leave Yemen.

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Mostafa Salem contributed to this article.