Yemen conflict: Cry for help?

Yemen’s President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has appealed to Gulf countries for military assistance to stop the advance of Shia Houthi rebels.

The Houthis have pushed south to within 50km of the port city of Aden.

President Hadi is reported to have left his palace compound in Aden – where he’s been staying since he fled from the capital Sanaa last month.

Hadi has turned to neighbours and the United Nations Security Council for help, requesting military intervention and a no-fly zone.

And Saudi Arabia has reassured him it will take “necessary measures” to protect the region if a peaceful solution cannot be found.

Hopes for a diplomatic solution rest with UN-brokered talks expected to be held in Doha in the coming days.

But does the crisis risk splintering into a regional conflict?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Abdullah Baabood – Director of the Gulf Studies Centre at Qatar University.

Steven Zyck – Research Fellow, Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute.

Gordon Lubold – Senior Military Writer at Defense One, who has also worked with the United States Institute of Peace.