The ghost of war is looming over the Yemeni capital Sanaa after the failure of last-ditch negotiations. The Houthi deployed more fighters in and around Sanaa after their representatives withdrew from the negotiations committee. The UN envoy, Jamal Bin Omar, started a new round of attempts to convince all conflicting parties to avoid a devastating war on Monday, 15 September. Few are optimistic that he will succeed. Ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, meanwhile, seems to be completely ignoring the unrest, busy with other things, and denies accusations that he is supporting Houthis. Saleh has been receiving tribal and religious leaders from all over Yemen at his luxurious palace in the middle of volatile Sanaa, which is besieged by Houthi fighters who have come to the capital from all directions. On 11 August, Saleh discovered that an 88-metre-long tunnel had been dug from a nearby hangar to his palace. The tunnel, it is claimed, was to have been used by assassins. Saleh tells his supporters that those responsible for the tunnel are the same people who attempted to kill him on 2 June 2011. He is clearly referring to the two main enemies of the Houthi: defecting General Ali Muhsen and tribal leader Hamid Al-Ahmar, who were both allied with and led the popular uprising of 2011 that ended in Saleh's removal for office. Encouraged by the pro-Saleh media coverage of the tunnel-builders' “treachery and treason”, tribal and religious leaders shout and chant in a big tent erected in the middle of the courtyard of Saleh's palace: “With soul and blood we will protect Ali.” Saleh answers the crowd: “We should not stand with any party against the other,” referring to the warring parties — Islah Party and Houthis in Sanaa and Jawf, and before that, in Amran. The daily rallies at Saleh's palace are covered by Azal, a private TV channel owned by Saleh's ally, Mohammed Shayef, the top tribal leader of the Bakil tribal federation, Yemen's second-most influential federation. These supporters come from the Hashid tribal federation, the most influential in Yemen, including Saleh's tribe and that of his two opponents, General Muhsen and Ahmar. They have come from almost every district of Amran to show their solidarity with Saleh, who has been portrayed as the top man in Hashid, especially after his two opponents were defeated by the Houthis in their stronghold of Amran last month. The war between Shia Houthi and the government (headed by the Sunni Islah Party, the Houthi enemy) has become an opportunity for Saleh to restore his popularity, especially after the recent alleged assassination attempt with the tunnel. Saleh continues to deny accusations that he supports Houthis in Amran, Jawf and now Sanaa. “We call for dialogue to save Yemeni blood,” Saleh told supporters from Amran on 9 September, after more than 10 pro-Houthi protesters were killed and 60 others injured in the second confrontation with government forces around the cabinet building. The 75-year-old Saleh is not believed to want to return to power, but he is working to install his elder son, Ahmed Ali. This effort started in 2004 when the real Yemeni crisis started in a war with Houthi rebels. When the historic allies of Saleh (General Muhsen and tribal leader Ahmar, son of the top leader of the Hashid tribe) discovered that Saleh was grooming his son Ahmed for power, and excluding them, they started to resist and look for chances to sideline Saleh and his son, as they did in 2011. The Houthi won the six-year sporadic war that was led by General Muhsen (2004-2010), and the Houthi took complete control over Saada. Saleh is accused now of supporting and using the Houthi to settle accounts with his two enemies, Muhsen and Ahmar, who were already defeated when the symbolic Amran stronghold fell completely under the control of Houthis last month. Now with Sanaa, the capital, besieged by Houthi armed followers, thousands of protesters are trying to camp out near important government institutions like the cabinet offices and the Interior Ministry. Some protesters carry the flag of Saleh's party, the General People's Congress. Despite his denials, Saleh wants to continue paving the way to power for his son Ahmed, currently ambassador of Yemen in the United Arab Emirates. The Houthi, meanwhile, needs to ally with Saleh and his party, whether they win militarily or politically in Sanaa. “Without the support of Saleh and his party's members everywhere in the country, the Houthi would not have won in Amran and come over to Sanaa,” said Hamid Ahmed, one of the leading protesters camping out at the southern entrance of Sanaa. Some liberals and leftists also support the Houthi and participate in their demonstrations, despite the violence. The Houthi support a secular state because they know they should always be either at war, to remain (as a minority) united and strong, or be under a civil secular state that protects the rights and liberties of everyone. “When it turns to war, we would go home and leave everything to Abu Ali Al-Hakem,” said the leftist leading protester Talal Aklan, referring to the military head of Houthi militants. “Mr Abdul Malik told us in a meeting with him that we are partners with him in peace but not in war,” said Aklan, referring to the Houthi's leader. If the transitional President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi can avoid all-out war and complete the transitional period with the Houthi turning into a political party, then the Houthi would support a secular man leading the country. President Hadi is in an extremely difficult situation because the main conflicting parties — Houthi and Islah — love and hate him at the same time. Hadi has no strong tribe, like Hashid, and his party is chaired by ex-president Saleh. Hadi depends mainly on the support of the international community, which would not help him if Yemen went to war.
