1st LD: Yemeni president accepts Houthi demands to end crisis

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Wednesday agreed to meet demands of the Shiite Houthi group after negotiations to resolve the current political crisis, official Saba news agency reported.

According to the deal nailed at a meeting between Hadi, his advisors and Houthi representatives on Wednesday, the government agreed to amend the draft constitution to meet the demands of all political parties, Saba reported.

The Houthi group and the Southern Movement that insists on independence of the southern regions have the right to appoint their representatives in all government institutions according to the peace and partnership deal that was signed on Sept. 21, 2014, it said.

All parties that signed the peace and partnership deal shall support the president to facilitate its implementation in all the government establishments within two weeks.

The Houthi group signed the peace and partnership deal that was broker by the United Nations and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with the government on Sept. 21, which put an end to week-long clashes that left about 400 people killed in Sanaa.

The Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, accused Hadi of violating the peace deal in a televised speech on Tuesday night, demanding the formation of a monitoring committee to revise the draft constitution and restoring security in Sanaa.

According to Saba, the Houthi group in return will immediately release Hadi's chief of staff, Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, and withdraw its fighters around Hadi's house.

The Houthi group would also pull out its fighters from the presidential palace and the nearby military base, and remove all new checkpoints set up since Monday from the streets in the capital Sanaa. It also agreed to allow all government institutions and ministries to resume work.

The Houthi group took over the presidential palace in southern Sanaa on Tuesday after clashed with presidential guards one day ago that left nine people killed and 79 others injured.

Information Minister Nadia Abdul-Aziz al-Sakaf accused Houthis of seeking a coup against the president, which was denied by Abdul Malik al-Houthi in his one-and-half-hour speech.

Fresh clashes erupted in Sanaa on Monday after Houthi gunmen kidnapped bin Mubarak in a wrangle over the country's draft constitution.

The Houthi group said in a statement that the arrest of bin Mubarak was a necessary step to prevent influential parties from approving the draft constitution.

According to the draft constitution, Yemen will be divided into six federal regions. However, the Houthi group demands that the country be divided into only two regions.

Gulf foreign ministers on Wednesday accused the Houthi group of provoking violence in Sanaa in a strongly worded statement following an emergency meeting in Riyadh.

The Sunni-dominated GCC expressed support for the "constitutionally legitimate authority" of Hadi, and insisted that the GCC "would take all measures necessary to protect their security, stability and vital interests in Yemen."

Houthis, who are based in the northern Saad province and demand more rights for the country's Zyadi Shiite Muslims, have expanded influence beyond the capital since late last year.

They met strong resistance from local tribes and al-Qaida networks in the central and southern regions, including the oil-rich Marib province.

In the deal inked on Wednesday, the government and Houthi group agreed to maintain stability in Marib as the province produces most of the country's electricity and exports crude oil that provides much of the government budget revenue. Endit