Conditions in Yemen Fail to Improve

Today in the Washington Post, an article was published titled UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Yemen. This article demonstrates how the conditions in Yemen continue to decline; unless action is taken, Yemen will collapse. The Security Council is essentially drafting a resolution that asks the Houthi Rebels to immediately withdraw from the capital and to give up the arms they stole from Yemen's military operations. The Security Council's plan will threaten sanctions if the transition of leadership in Yemen is not met, but even I doubt the UN's rationale for this - surely rebels couldn't care less about a threat of sanctions.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC - Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates) want a provision in the plan that allows for military force, if necessary; however, this provision has not been granted by the UN Security Council yet. My prediction is that 'asking nicely' will not get the Houthis to pull out of Yemen's capital, but if a looming threat of military action is upon the rebels, they might just leave. We'll just have to see how the meeting goes, but I would not be shocked if a provision for the potential of military force is added. Sanctions work against nations, but they do not work against factions. If the UN Security Council is to apply sanctions to any countries arming the rebels, this will create further tension (due to economic constraints), but that will be necessary - but to sanction an already poor, broken country, seems silly. One other point to consider is that it is highly unlikely that the rebels will return the arms they stole. They might leave the capital, but it would be very characteristic for many of the weapons to magically disappear. Stay tuned for how this case plays out. 

-Jon Stanciu