Al Houthis in their last days — defector
YEMEN TROOPS ENTER RESIDENTIAL STREETS IN HODEIDA BATTLE
The defector admitted he was a member of a team involved in a ‘misleading campaign’ by rebels, saying he acted under duress.
A“minister” who served in Yemen’s Al Houthi “government” before defecting to Saudi Arabia has said Al Houthis are witnessing their last days. “They have divided Yemen into zones of conflicts, and have spread chaos into its institutions. Al Houthi leaders are in conflict with each other,” Abdul Salam Jaber said at a press conference in Riyadh yesterday.
“What is happening in their areas mirrors militia practices, and makes the liberation of Yemen a faster process.”
Jaber had served as an information minister for Al Houthis before he defected and fled along with his family to Saudi Arabia, which is leading an Arab coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen.
“Prisoners are tortured by the coup plotters,” Jaber said, referring to Al Houthis. “The militia sends children to war in the name of religion. There are thousands of journalists, whom we could not help.”
The defector admitted he was a member of a team involved in a “misleading campaign” by rebels, saying he acted under duress. “Al Houthis have a massive media machine and an electronic army that extends across the region,” Jaber added.
Meanwhile, fighting for control of Hodeida reached residential streets yesterday, military sources said. Troops entered residential streets in eastern Hodeida with the aim of “purging them of insurgents”, according to a tribal council official.
Asenior official who defected from the so-called government of Yemen’s Al Houthis, unmasked the Iran-allied militia’s atrocities yesterday.
Abdul Salam Jaber had served as an information minister for Al Houthis before he defected and fled along with his family to Saudi Arabia, which is leading an Arab coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen.
“Prisoners are tortured by the coup plotters,” Jaber said at a press conference in Riyadh yesterday, referring to Al Houthis. “The militias send children to war in the name of religion. There are thousands of journalists, whom we could not help,” Jaber said.
Yemen has been in a devastating war since late 2014 after Al Houthis toppled the internationally recognised government and overran parts of the country, including the capital Sana’a. In 2015, the Arab coalition, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, intervened in Yemen in response to a request by its government.
“Since September 2014, Yemen has been subjected to a state of oppression and monstrous seizure of the country’s vital institutions,” Jaber said, calling what is going on in Yemen “more dangerous than a coup.” The defector admitted he was a member of a team involved in a “misleading campaign” by rebels, saying he acted under duress.
“Al Houthis have a massive media machine and an electronic army that extends across the region,” Jaber added without giving details.
He added that his defection will help in the reinstatement of the internationally recognised government.
“My arrival in Riyadh will open the doors to work for restoring legitimacy in Yemen, which has been struck by a catastrophe greater than Yemenis can bear,” Jaber said.
“Al Houthis are breathing their last and are living their final days,” Jaber said.
Meanwhile, fighting for control of Hodeida reached residential streets yesterday, military sources said.
Troops entered residential streets in eastern Hodeida with the aim of “purging them of insurgents”, according to a tribal council official.
More than 400 combatants have been killed in 10 days of clashes in Hodeida city that is home to a vital port.
Pro-government fighters moved into the neighbourhood between the May 22 hospital — the largest in Hodeida — and Sana’a Road, which links the port city to inland Yemen. Fighters clashed around the Al Waha (Oasis) Resort, closing in on a civilian district located south of the hospital and north of Sana’a Road.