“As a participant in this process…the Houthis will have reason to and will want to have discussions with the international community about the way forward, the US government is participating in those discussions,” Kirby told journalists during a press briefing.
US government officials are in communication with various parties in Yemen about “what is very fluid and complex political situation,” Kirby explained.
However, Kirby stressed that “there is no intelligence sharing regimen with Houthis, there is no formal agreement to do that, and you need those types of formal agreements to be able to do that.”
Yemen’s president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi resigned last week, following the country’s cabinet resignation after Houthi rebels had seized control of the presidential palace in Sanaa.
The Houthis, the main opposition force in Yemen, have been carrying out protests in the country since mid-August, demanding the resignation of the Yemeni government. Houthi rebels have taken over many Yemeni cities. The fighters claim their actions are aimed at protecting civilians from terrorism and discrimination by the government.
