Al Houthis have to make a choice soon

Rebel forces in Hodeida can either surrender, be defeated or withdraw unconditionally

For the past ten days, Al Houthi rebels have stubbornly and ill-advisedly maintained their grip on the port of Hodeida, using the harbour as a staging post for their attacks and having their weapons and materials of war imported through the port from their political masters in Tehran. The port and its ancillary infrastructure is normally where threequarters of Yemen’s import needs are met.

Their occupation has also prevented the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia — and in which the UAE is playing a key role in helping and liberating our Arab brothers in Yemen — from providing humanitarian relief and medical supplies to the Yemeni people. Now, after days of feeling the combat pressures brought to bear on the rebels, Al Houthis have indicated that they might be willing to support diplomatic efforts to secure their withdrawal.

Make no mistake — these rebels are not in a position to dictate any terms of their withdrawal, and any move by Al Houthis to leave the port must also include laying down their weapons from their positions across the entire immediate area and include the city and outlying villages. Those holding rebel lines are but terrorists who are subverting the rule of the legitimate government of Yemen and are committing criminal acts against an international force that is acting on foot of a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

What is clear this far is that Al Houthis have placed snipers and other weaponry at strategic points to frustrate attempts to restore the rule of law and order. The Saudi-led coalition will succeed within days of fully taking control of all of the region around Hodeida whether these rebels agree or not on a diplomatic solution. Whether by overwhelming force of arms or through the efforts of diplomatic intermediaries, the Al Houthis will leave Hodeida in its entirety, and there will be no preconditions that will allow these gangs of common terrorists to be able to continue their fight elsewhere.

The rebels have no regard for the lives of civilians and have used our Arab brothers as human shields in misguided and cowardly efforts to thwart the Saudi-led coalition from achieving its mission goals in Hodeida — or indeed across Yemen as a whole.

Time is running out for the rebels, and the sooner they act, either in surrender, total defeat or through unconditional withdrawal, the end result is inevitable. The UAE and its allies will not rest until our Arab brothers are free.