Yemen: Chandy seeks Modi’s intervention

“An effective time bound evacuation has to be evolved without delay,” the Kerala CM says.

April 01, 2015 01:54 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 07:39 am IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:

INS Sumitra, an Offshore Patrol Vessel, which has been deployed for was re-deployed off the Port of Aden on March 30, and entered Aden Harbour in the evening of  March 31. The ship evacuated nearly 350 Indians from Aden and is currently on passage to Djibouti. Photo courtesy: Indian Navy

INS Sumitra, an Offshore Patrol Vessel, which has been deployed for was re-deployed off the Port of Aden on March 30, and entered Aden Harbour in the evening of March 31. The ship evacuated nearly 350 Indians from Aden and is currently on passage to Djibouti. Photo courtesy: Indian Navy

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene for urgent evacuation of Indians from war-hit Yemen.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister pointed out that the situation in Yemen was becoming bad to worse. “Since the situation is going out of control every hour, an effective time bound evacuation has to be evolved without delay.

“I am getting frantic calls even from young nurses stranded there. They all are literally weeping and fear for their life if urgent steps are not taken.”

Mr. Chandy suggested that India must use its good offices with the rulers of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to get landing facility for Air India flights in Sanaa and other airports in Yemen. More flights and ships including naval ships might be sent to Yemen for evacuation so as to complete the process at the earliest.

“All Indians who want to come back to India may be provided with Exit Pass and required permission to leave Yemen without charging any fees. Some Hospitals including Sanaa Military Hospital are not permitting (the nurses and paramedical staff) to leave Yemen. They are demanding compensation and withholding passports. Indian Embassy should contact all such hospitals and do the needful to release them since the nurses and paramedical staff cannot pay any compensation.”

He urged the Centre to consider airlifting the nurses to Kochi or Thiruvananthapuram since most of them are from Kerala.

He said that media reports that China and Pakistan had evacuated their citizens from Yemen had evoked much concern and agony among the Indians in Yemen and their relatives in India.

Mr. Chandy, who tanked the Centre and Indian Embassy in Yemen for steps taken so far, said that he hoped that the Centre would take urgent steps for speedy evacuation.

Yemen on the brink

Who are fighting whom?

  • Houthis: The rebel group controls nine of 21 provinces now
  • Saudi-led coalition: Here are some of those who are participating and what they are deploying: Saudi Arabia: 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and some naval units UAE: 30 fighter jets Bahrain: 15 fighter jets Kuwait: 15 fighter jets Qatar: 10 fighter jets Jordan: 6 fighter jets Sudan: 3 fighter jets Egypt: naval and air forces involved.
  • Yemeni security forces: The military is now split as units that support Mr. Hadi, units that support the Houthis, and units that support a still-influential Saleh, who is in the Houthi camp for now
  • Popular Resistance Committees: Militia loyal to Hadi in his stronghold of south Yemen.
  • AQAP: Mr. Hadi and Houthis are fighting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has staged several attacks in the country and is strong in the south. Active since 2009. AQAP has taken advantage of the power struggle.
  • IS: A new group of militants inspired by the Islamic State group has claimed major attacks, including suicide bombings which killed at least 142 people at Shia mosques in Sana’a.
  • U.S.: CIA drones have continued to target top AQAP leaders, but the campaign has suffered from Mr. Hadi’s absence. Last week, U.S. military advisers were withdrawn from a southern base as al-Qaeda militants seized a nearby city.

Who are the Houthis?

The Houthis are followers of the Shia Zaidi sect, the faith of around a third of Yemen’s population. Officially known as Ansarallah (the partisans of God), the group began as a movement preaching tolerance and peace in the Zaidi stronghold of North Yemen in the early 1990s.

After some protests pitted it against the government, the group launched an insurgency in 2004 against the then ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh that lasted till 2010. Their opponents view them as a proxy of Shia Iran. The group is hostile to the United States but has also vowed to eradicate al-Qaeda. They participated in the 2011 Arab Spring inspired revolution in Yemen that replaced Saleh with Abdrahbu Mansour Hadi.

Key dates to the Yemen conflict

  • September 21, 2014: Houthi rebels seize government and military sites in Sana’a after several days of fighting that killed more than 270 people. Rival groups sign a U.N.-brokered peace deal stipulating a Houthi withdrawal from the capital and formation of a new government.
  • October 9, 2014: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has declared war on the Houthis, claims an attack in Sana’a in which 47 are killed.
  • October 14, 2014: The Houthis seize the Red Sea port of Hodeida, 230 km west of Sana’a, then move toward the centre without opposition from government forces but face fierce resistance from AQAP and its tribal allies.
  • January 20, 2015: Houthis attack Mr. Hadi’s residence and seize the presidential palace, and the President and Prime Minister resign two days later.
  • February 6, 2015: The rebels announce they have dissolved Parliament and installed a presidential council to run the country. The United States and Gulf monarchies accuse Iran of backing the Houthis. In the south and southeast, authorities reject what they brand a coup attempt.
  • February 21, 2015: Mr. Hadi flees south to Aden after escaping from weeks under house arrest and urges the international community to “reject the coup,” rescinding his resignation and subsequently declaring Aden the temporary capital.
  • March 19, 2015: Clashes in which at least 11 are killed force the closure of the international airport in Aden and Mr. Hadi is moved to a more secure location after an air raid on the presidential palace there.
  • March 22, 2015: The Houthis advance southwards, seizing the airport and a nearby military base in Taez, north of Aden and a strategic entry point to Mr. Hadi’s stronghold. Houthi leader Abdelmalek al-Houthi says the rebels have moved south to combat Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
  • March 25, 2015: Mr. Hadi is again moved as rebel forces bear down on Aden, capturing a major airbase nearby just days after U.S. military personnel were evacuated from it.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.