Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hezbollah assist Houthis in Sana’a:
intelligence source
Arafat Madabish Asharq Al-Awsat Saturday, 27 Sep, 2014
President Hadi calls for "immediate implementation" of peace agreement

Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat - Forces with links to Iran and Hezbollah, a Shi’ite
Lebanese militia, are supporting Houthi rebels to boost their control of
Yemen’s capital Sana’a, intelligence sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Elements affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and
Hezbollah, who were training Houthis in the north of Yemen, are currently
present in the capital Sana’a,” an intelligence source who requested
anonymity because he was not permitted to brief the media told Asharq
Al-Awsat.

Following a month of protests against Yemen’s central government, Houthi
militants last week gained control of key government buildings in Sana’a and
looted the homes of top government officials.

Members of the Iranian elite force and Hezbollah are helping the Shi’ite
rebels implement their political and military agenda in the country, the
source said.

Houthi rebels obtained a large number of official documents after ransacking
the residences of several Yemeni officials, including those of Maj. Gen. Ali
Mohsin Al-Ahmar and director of national security Ali Al-Ahmadi, the source
added.

Eye-witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Shi’ite group stormed several
mosques across the country on Friday and appointed its own preachers after
Houthi militants expelled those licensed by the country’s Ministry of
Religious Endowments.

The move provoked public outrage and was seen as an attempt to impose Houthi
ideology throughout the country.

Militias loyal to rebel leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi on Friday held their
positions in Sana’a, particularly in the northern parts of the city,
security sources reported.

The group is using arms it seized from government military bases to assert
its control over the capital.

President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi delivered a speech on Thursday to mark the
52nd anniversary of the revolution that toppled the rule of imams in Yemen.
He said the occasion “coincides with extraordinary circumstances,” urging
the people of Yemen to “be unified in a single entity under national
partnership for all without exception and exclusion.”

Hadi said that despite the difficult circumstances, the state remains strong
and resistant to collapse. He also called for the “immediate implementation”
of the peace agreement between his government and the Houthis.

Last week, the central government and Houthis signed a deal under the
auspices of the UN to form a new government and introduce several economic
reforms.

Hamdan Al-Rahbi also contributed reporting.