Madbouly Egypt's development model at UN conference    Egypt's Foreign Minister urges diplomacy on Iran nuclear issue in IAEA call    Egypt, Iran FMs discuss Gaza truce, nuclear talks revival    Egypt's Environment Minister calls for stronger action on desertification, climate resilience in Africa    Egypt's Q3 GDP growth hits three-year high of 4.77%    Peace is not imposed by bombing… nor achieved by normalisation peoples reject: Al-Sisi    Al-Sisi reaffirms Egypt's support for Libyan unity, withdrawal of foreign forces    Spinneys Opens A New Store in Hurghada    Egypt to launch new dialysis filter factory in July, covering 65% of domestic demand    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Egypt leverages diplomacy to advance global health partnerships    Egypt to toughen truck safety rules following fatal Ring Road accident    Egypt condemns Pakistan convoy attack, voices solidarity    Egypt, Mauritania eye joint healthcare plans    Egypt's FM, UK security adviser discuss de-escalation    US Fed holds rates steady    EGX ends in green on June 16    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt delays Grand Museum opening to Q4 amid regional tensions    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Egypt discovers three New Kingdom tombs in Luxor's Dra' Abu El-Naga    Egypt launches "Memory of the City" app to document urban history    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Brotherhood sabotaging peace efforts in Yemen
Published in Ahram Online on 21 - 09 - 2021

Media reports this week highlighted how the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah Party in Yemen has been handing over positions to Iran-backed Houthi rebels in a new obstacle to ending the war in the country that has now lasted for seven years since its outbreak in 2014.
With a stalemate in the fighting around the town of Marib, the Houthi rebels have claimed advances in the Shabwa governorate where government forces, mainly Islah Party fighters, fled to the capital leaving their arms and positions to the Houthi rebels.
The Southern Transitional Council (STC) and other parties in South Yemen are wary of Islah activities, especially in the South. They blame the rise in the presence of Al-Qaeda and Daesh (Islamic State group –IS) terrorists there on the Muslim Brotherhood. Rivalry between Islah and the STC has intensified amid demonstrations blaming the Brotherhood for the deteriorating security situation and territorial gains by the Houthi rebels.
The STC has opposed the movement of Brotherhood-backed Islah forces into Sabwa and Abyan in the South, which southerners say contradicts the Riyadh Agreement of late 2019 between the STC and the government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The chaos in the South has derailed efforts by the UN special envoy to Yemen to stop the war and start negotiations. The Saudi-led Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen is also keen to see a halt to the fighting and the start of a political process. But the Houthi rebels have been stubborn in refusing such efforts.
The Brotherhood component in the Yemeni government seems to be the main beneficiary of this stalemate, exploiting it to gain influence through the disguise of charity outlets that provide money received from backers outside Yemen. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood has been using its position in the government to help the Houthi rebels.
Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar of the Islah Party, a main Brotherhood member of the government, has been exposed on social media as a "traitor to Yemen."
US researcher and human-rights lawyer Irena Tsukerman told the online TV channel Aden Today in an interview this week that the rise in terrorist threats in Yemen were linked to Muslim Brotherhood elements strengthening their position within the Yemeni government.
"Ali Mohsen is supported by some factions in Saudi Arabia who think he gives the legitimate government more popular support within Yemen. That is how Islah became an important lobbying force within the government, especially after the US stopped its support for the Arab Coalition," Tsukerman said.
She added that "in Yemen and everywhere else you cannot separate the Muslim Brotherhood from Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations. Many Al-Qaeda terrorists came from Brotherhood ranks."
This view was shared by Saudi commentator Abdel-Aziz Alkhames in an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly. "Saudi Arabia has designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation. Yet it deals with the Islah Party as a component of the Yemeni political scene even though the party's interests are opposed to Saudi interests," Alkhames said.
"Because of their ideology, Muslim Brotherhood parties are never patriotic," he added. "They do not believe in a state or a country. They are in government, but they do not care about Yemen. Their loyalty is to the international organisation of the Brotherhood."
"They divide themselves into wings: one tries to impose conditions on the ground, while another is in government trying to influence it. But their goals are different from those of the legitimate government of Yemen and from the goals of the Southern Yemenis. Their goal is ultimately to achieve opportunistic benefits and to strengthen their hold," Alkhames said.
Such developments have made it more and more difficult to achieve a breakthrough in the peace negotiations in Yemen. "There are many wars within the war in Yemen, all of them interconnected. The power struggle within the Yemeni factions is also hindering the peace efforts," Tsukerman said.
She added that two main dangerous influences are the Iranian support of the Houthi rebels and financial support for the Islah Party from the international organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Earlier in the war, Islah collaborated with the Houthi rebels when they first swept the country in 2014. The party's goal at the time was the hope that if the Houthis prevailed, they would repay the Brotherhood by sharing the country between them.
"I think the Brotherhood in Yemen will continue in this direction. It is part of their nature and ideology. They are always traitors to their homelands," Alkhames told the Weekly.
"They are also liars. One of their leaders, Zandani, said he had 40,000 fighters ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the legitimate government and coalition forces. Later, it turned out that he had no one. All the positions entrusted to the Brotherhood fall easily into the hands of the Houthi rebels," he said.
Alkhames was referring to Islah collaboration with the Houthis in the Yemeni city of Taiz, under rebel siege since the start of the war in 2014. The Brotherhood is active in Taiz, and Islah has had to quell demonstrations in the city against it, as it did with demonstrations against the Brotherhood in Shabwa last week.
One of the main goals of the Islah Party is to sabotage the Riyadh Agreement that reconciles the legitimate government of Yemen and the STC. If successful, this will make the Brotherhood Party more powerful in the government and facilitate efforts to harness the terrorist groups in South Yemen.
This will indirectly help the Houthi cause, complicating further efforts by the UN, the US and Saudi Arabia to end the war in Yemen and start a political process to bring peace to this devastated country.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 23 September, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly


Clic here to read the story from its source.