1. Yemen’s bad omen. The rapidly changing political scenarios do not augur well for the stability in Yemen. If unchecked now, Sanaa could be a new center of conflicts that would threaten regional peace as well as that of the world.

2. Houthis. Who this? Symptom of “regional mistrust,” Houthis are rebels who were crushed in the past but are now in control of Sanaa. Ongoing inter tribal confrontation in the capital city could further escalate into a major war.

3. Why the crisis? Instability, in one word. It’s persisting since 2011. The country is facing multiple challenges, including regular attacks by Al-Qaeda and its affiliate, protests by southern separatists and Houthis’ power ambition.

4. It’s power game in full play. With too many power centers like Houthis, Islah, the Ahmers, Mohsen and the separatist movement in the south, trust is the most missing link in stabilizing Yemen.

5. Failed agreement. Signed on Sept. 21, it included Houthis and some southern separatist forces in the power sharing. The Houthis didn’t honor the deal.

6. Power hunger. Under a security annex to the accord, they were expected to leave Sanaa in return for their inclusion in the new government. To date they remain in place.

7. Foreign hand. Iran’s expansionist ambition is troubling several parts of the Gulf region. In Houthis, Iran finds the Shiite connection; helping it through Hezbollah to create another Lebanon. Iran denies it.

8. Al-Qaeda. It gets strengthened in the region because of power vacuum and fluid political conditions prevailing there.

9. Take the crisis head on. Saudi Arabia has rightly termed the development in Yemen as unprecedented challenges to global security, which needs swift action.

10. Stemming the rot. Sanaa needed a government with a genuine inclusive policy giving power share to different important groups that might reflect the real balance of power. But it all seems too late now.

10 Things about Yemen, Houthis and the Gulf region

1. Yemen facing twin problem of Houthis’ haughty ambitions and Al-Qaeda’s terror structure in the south, where secessionist movement Al-Hirak Al-Janoubi is active.

2. Yemen was relatively stable since its unification until 2011. President Ali Abdullah Saleh could take all factions together; it enjoyed a balance of power between opposed forces.

3. KSA shares a long border with Yemen, and hence it is genuinely concerned.

4. In 2011, KSA played a key role to push forward a Gulf power transfer deal that saw long-serving Saleh step down after months of protests in 2011.

5. President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi has agreed to involve the rebels in the formation of a new government to revoke some of the unpopular decisions.

6. A religious group affiliated with the Zaidi sect of Shiite, the Houthis maintain a stronghold in the northern province of Saada, and have challenged the government for a decade.

7. The Houthis take their name from Hussein Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi, who led the first uprising in 2004 to win autonomy for Saada. After he was killed in late 2004, his family led another five rebellions before a cease-fire was signed with the government in 2010.

8. Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world, facing instability and resulting in large-scale displacement

9. Over 10 million Yemenis are believed to be food insecure resulting in unemployment and high food prices.

10. The Middle East seems stuck in the warp and woof of terror network, of which Yemen is a victim too. It may take years to cleanse the Gulf of the terror pollution, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal thinks so.