Yemeni revolutionaries reach deal to disarm, withdraw

On Saturday, the Ansarullah activists, also known as Houthis, signed the accord as part of a UN-mediated comprehensive agreement with pro-government Salafist Islah party and other parties.
 
Houthi revolutionaries have the upper hand in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, where they are seen as the strongest force on the ground. They have stationed thousands of troops and disarmed army barracks there.
 
According to Yemeni officials, 340 people were killed in week-long clashes between Ansarullah fighters of the Shia Houthi movement and Salafist militants backed by Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who is former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh’s stepbrother.
Ansarullah fighters have been staging demonstrations in the capital for more than a month, demanding the formation of a new government.
 
Earlier this month, the Yemeni government and the revolutionary forces signed an agreement on the formation of a new cabinet of technocrats within a month and the restoration of fuel subsidies.
 
Ansarullah fighters are affiliated to Yemen’s Shia Houthi movement, which draws its name from the tribe of its founding leader, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi.
 
The Ansarullah movement played a key role in the popular revolution that forced the ex-dictator to step down.