Yemen: Saudi FM reaches out to Houthis over Twitter

In what appears to be a reconciliatory gesture towards what Riyadh sees as Yemeni rebels, Saudi foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir has described the Houthis as being an intrinsic part of Yemeni society. “Whether we agree or disagree with them, the Houthis are part of the social fabric of Yemen,” he tweeted on 13 May. “However, Al-Qaeda and [Islamic State] Daesh are terrorist entities that must be confronted in Yemen and everywhere else,” he added, in a follow-on tweet. The tweets prompted the circulation of an Arabic-language hashtag on Twitter meaning ‘Al-Jubeir the Houthis are our neighbours’.