UAE, Saudis give $70m for Yemen teachers

Hadi urges government to work to ease hardships of residents affected by war

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are leading an Arab alliance fighting Iran-allied Al Houthi militants in Yemen, will donate $70 million (Dh256.9 million) to pay the war-devastated country’s teachers in cooperation with Unicef, a Saudi official has said.

“The alliance led by Saudi Arabia is following with concern the brotherly Yemeni people’s suffering of deteriorating economic and living conditions due to failure to pay monthly salaries to some categories [of people] in the country, mainly the teaching staff,” Abdullah Al Rabeeh, the general supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, added, according to the official Saudi news agency.

He said the will help pay the 135,000 teachers.

“This comes as part of the continuing support offered by the coalition countries to end the humanitarian and economic sufferings of the Yemeni people with this support exceeding $17 billion until now,” the official said.

In recent months, angry Yemenis have taken to the streets in several areas of the country, protesting the plunge in the local currency and rising prices of basic items.

Last week, Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi appointed Maeen Abdul Malek as a new prime minister, replacing Ahmad Bin Dagher whom the Yemeni leader accused of failing to handle the country’s economic deterioration.

Improve services

donation salaries of

Hadi, who is living in Saudi Arabia, urged yesterday the government to focus on improving the Yemenis’ living conditions, mainly those related to health care, education, electricity, water and roads, the state news agency Saba reported.

The presidential directive came at a meeting between Hadi and Abdul Malek in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Hadi also stressed the importance of teamwork and coherence in order to “rout forces of rebellion and coup” in Yemen, Saba reported.

Al Houthis have plunged Yemen in a devastating war since they deposed the internationally recognised government and seized parts of the country, including the capital Sana’a, in late 2014.

In recent weeks, government forces, supported by the Arab coalition’s air power, have made territorial gains against the Al Houthis.