In Sanaa on Tuesday, the presidential palace was overrun by Shiite Houthi rebels, a situation the country’s minister of information described as the “completion of a coup.”
That’s a problem for the United States, which has relied on the government in Yemen as an ally in battling the al Qaeda affiliate that’s based there. A power vacuum could benefit al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the terrorist offshoot that U.S. officials consider the most dangerous branch of the global jihadi network.
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A senior administration official said Obama was being updated on the situation in Yemen by his national security team.
“We strongly condemn the violence and those stoking it in an effort to disrupt Yemen’s political transition. We will continue to support efforts to bring about a peaceful solution,” the official said.
