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Houthis Exerting Pressure to Control Yemen’s General People’s Congress

Houthi militants in Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters)
Houthi militants in Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters)
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Houthis Exerting Pressure to Control Yemen’s General People’s Congress

Houthi militants in Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters)
Houthi militants in Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen have demanded from their loyalists in the General People’s Congress (GPC) in Sanaa to pressure a prominent member of the party to step down from his position as head of its parliamentary bloc.

The Houthis are seeking the ouster of Sultan al-Burkani and several other members of the GPC in order to complete their takeover of the party that used to be headed by late former President Ali Abdullah Saleh until his assassination by the militias in December.

The Houthis are seeking complete control of the GPC to transform it into a political arm that can serve their agenda in upcoming negotiations with United Nations special envoy Martin Griffiths.

This prompted leading member of the party and parliament Speaker Yehya al-Rahi to boycott for over a week parliament meetings in protest against the Houthi actions. The militias took no heed, however, and forced lawmakers to hold parliament sessions even though they hold no legal basis.

Partisan sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity that the militias ordered GPC lawmakers in Sanaa to oust Burkani from the leadership of the bloc and chose tribal leader MP Zeid Abou Ali as his replacement.

The militias informed their loyalist MPs that they no longer want Burkani to remain in his post given his anti-Houthi stances. Other GPC figures have adopted similar stances and they have been ordered by the Houthis to change them.

In addition, the sources revealed that the militias were seeking to appoint the prime minister of their illegal government, Abdulaziz Habtoor, as GPC secretary general. They also want to appoint pro-Houthi Tareq al-Shami as his assistant secretary general.

They said that the majority of GPC members in Sanaa were no longer able to refuse any Houthi demand given the harassment they are facing. Many others have joined their cause after being lured by money and out of fear of reprisals.

Despite the challenges, more than one source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sanaa GPC leaderships are informing leaderships outside of the Houthi-held capital of their oppression. They explained that they are forced to take decisions against their will and this has been met with understanding from their peers.

Coordination is meanwhile ongoing between GPC members in Sanaa and others elsewhere over the resumption of peace negotiations.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.