Saudi pressures on Yemenis have failed: Expert

Press TV has conducted an interview with Jalal Fairooz, a Middle East expert, to discuss Saudi Arabia’s aerial bombardment campaign against Yemen.

Here is a rough transcription of the interview:

Press TV: The Saudi war on Yemen continues. Today apparently a school was also targeted. Isn’t this enough proof that Saudi Arabia targets civilians and in particular children in this all-out war?

Fairooz: Of course the Saudis have failed in their old type of pressure on the Yemenis people starting from all these airstrikes against civilians and in their pressure politically and through the so-called negotiations in Kuwait which failed.

Just one hour ago the Yemeni parliament approved that the Supreme Military Council will be the guardian and the governing entity in Yemen and that has frustrated the Saudis. Now at this time while I am talking to you there are also reports coming that there are more airstrikes. These come in violation against the truce agreement which was decided by the United Nations in last April.

The UN has over and over said that the political situation is being targeted because of the airstrikes which are being hit on the civilians in Yemen. As per the UNICEF, at least 1,200 children have been killed in these airstrikes. You could see how much up to now you have around 9 to 10,000 people killed since the start of this aggression but it seems that because over the past three days the Saudis have warned the Yemeni parliament not to approve anything against the wish of the Saudis, so I am so much afraid that this will come, we will see lots of other civilian targets being hit in the coming days.

Press TV: For how long can this situation continue? What does it take for this war to end?

Fairooz: Well it has been 500 days this week since the aggression started and unfortunately with all the reports which say that arms sales to the Saudis who are using these arms to kill women and children in Yemen have to stop, last week we have seen approval of 1.15 billion dollars arms sales from the United States.

Even though there is a bill in the Congress to stop the arms sales to Saudis, it seems that because the situation currently on the ground in Yemen is not in line with whatever the United States and the Western states want, so they are helping unfortunately the Saudis to go on with it and you could see the United Nations is helpless. They are putting one day the Saudis on the blacklist for killing children in Yemen and next day they remove it because the Saudis threat of taking the military backing of the United Nations.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk