Yemen rebels, allies form a government, deepening rift

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen’s Houthi rebels and allies from the ousted president’s party have formed a new government, deepening divisions in the Arab world’s poorest nation.

Houthis and their allies from ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People’s Congress party announced late Monday the formation of the so-called National Salvation Government, the second in Yemen, based in the capital Sanaa.

Yemen has an internationally-recognized government based in the southern city of Aden.

The announcement came at a time that U.S.-backed, U.N.-mediated peace efforts have faltered.

The Houthis launched an offensive from their northern enclave in 2014 to take Sanaa and much of northern Yemen. The rebels forced President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country and seek shelter in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition, mostly consisting of Arab Gulf states, subsequently intervened in Yemen, launching a punishing air campaign against the Houthis.