(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned the use of terrorism by the Houthis against Yemen in a statement following their 41st GCC Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting, which was held in Riyadh.
“The GCC council considers what happened in Sana’a on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, a coup against legitimacy…undermining the political process in the Republic of Yemen,” the ministers said.
The GCC confirmed that Yemen's security is an integral part of national security in the region. “Yemen's stability and unity is a top priority for the GCC countries…the GCC will take the required measures to protect its member states' security, stability and vital interests in Yemen.” In addition, the ministers reaffirmed their “continual support for the Yemeni people and strongly condemns these terrorist acts, including infringing on the constitutional legitimacy, storming the presidency palace, abducting Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Director of the Office of the President … and attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Khalid Mahfouz Bahah.”
The council demanded that the Houthis withdraw from the presidential palace and the residences of the President and Prime Minister, lift the siege of the presidential palace, release Dr. Mubarak, and normalize the security situation in Sana’a and return government institutions to state control. The council called upon all parties and political forces to put the interests of Yemen as top priority and offered to send an envoy to mediate an end to the crisis.
“The Ministerial Council stresses the need to implement the Yemen-relevant resolutions from the U.N. Security Council …what is happening in Yemen represents a threat to international peace and security in the region and the whole world.”
GCC Foreign Ministers statement on the situation in Yemen
