UAE: Putting pressure on militia vital for Yemen peace
32 militiamen killed in Hodeida as UN envoy arrives in Sana’a
The Arab coalition fighting Iran-allied Al Houthis in Yemen is committed to a UN-led peace process but pressure on the extremists is necessary, said Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, the UAE permanent representative to the UN.
Fresh clashes and air strikes killed 32 militants around Yemen’s Red Sea city of Hodeida, hospital sources said yesterday.
In 2015, the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened in Yemen at the request of the government against Al Houthis after the militants advanced on the southern city of Aden, the temporary capital of the country after their takeover of the capital Sana’a.
“The coalition is ready to support new talks whenever the [UN] special envoy can ensure Al Houthis’ meaningful participation,” Nusseibeh said in a letter to President of the UN Security Council Nikki Haley.
Last week, Al Houthis dealt a harsh blow to UN envoy Martin Griffiths’ efforts to revive Yemen’s long-stalled peace process by failing to appear in Geneva for scheduled indirect talks.
Griffiths yesterday arrived in Al Houthi-controlled Sana’a in a fresh attempt to arrange a new round of talks. Yemeni forces, supported by the coalition, have since stepped up the military campaign aimed at liberating the western city of Hodeida and its crucial port ■ from Al Houthis. “What is now clear is that any potential progress at the negotiating table depends on sustaining pressure on Al Houthis,” Nusseibeh said in the letter which was also sent to UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Putting pressure
“While military action should be the last resort in the coalition’s view, the liberation of Hodeida is critical to reengaging Al Houthis in peace talks. To that end, Yemeni government forces backed by the coalition have now intensified military operations against Al Houthis in the Hodeida area and on other fronts.”
She also urged the Security Council and international community to put pressure on Al Houthis. “This should begin with immediate action to sever Al Houthis’ supply of weapons, funding, and technical assistance from Iran, which is in direct violation of Security Council resolutions 2216 and 2231,” Nusseibeh said. Saudi air defences late on Saturday intercepted a missile launched by the rebels from their stronghold of Sa’ada towards the south-western Saudi region of Jizan, the coalition spokesman Colonel Turki Al Maliki said.
He estimated that Al Houthis have fired a total of 196 missiles at Saudi Arabia, resulting in 112 civilian deaths, since the extremists’ coup against the Yemeni government in late 2014.
The Saudi-led coalition accuses Al Houthis of taking advantage of their control of Hodeida port to obtain weapons from Iranian patrons as well as confiscate aid intended for Yemenis. In June, the government forces, backed by the coalition air power, started a major offensive to expel Al Houthis from Hodeida. The campaign was temporarily halted in support of Griffiths’ efforts.
–With inputs from WAM