NileSat takes Yemeni Ansarullah-linked al-Masirah TV channel off air

Egyptian satellite company NileSat has reportedly taken Yemeni Arabic-language al-Massirah television channel off air for affiliation to the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which has been fighting the Saudi-led military aggression against the impoverished Arab country over the past few years.

Nilesat cut the broadcast of the Lebanon-based TV station on Wednesday evening. Technicians scrambled to reprogram satellite receivers after the station switched its broadcast to Russia’s Express satellite provider.

The channel can now be received on Express AM44 (11° West), frequency: 11177 MHz, vertical polarization, symbol rate: 3000, FEC ¾. A Full HD receiver is needed to receive the channel.

The spokesman for the Yemeni Ansarullah movement later reacted to NileSat’s decision to drop al-Masirah.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam wrote on his official Twitter page that the decision by Egypt's regional satellite operator Nilesat to remove al-Masirah TV station from the airwaves is an illegal move.

“The Saudi-led aggressors cannot silence the channel. Nilesat’s decision is in line with the Saudi-led onslaught against Yemen. There are other options to counter this move. The measure confirms that we are on the right track, especially as invaders are preparing for major crimes in Yemen.

“The fact that the international community is talking about the establishment of peace in Yemen and cessation of weapons sale to Saudi Arabia is the result of public pressure. This explains why the Saudi-led coalition is trying to silence al-Masirah TV station. We will continue to expose the crimes of aggressors by any possible mean,” Abdul-Salam pointed out.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah movement.

PressTV-US impeding UN bid to broker peace in Yemen

The US has urged the UN Security Council to put on hold a draft resolution demanding an immediate truce in Yemen.

According to a new report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.

The Saudi-led war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years.

A number of Western countries, the US and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

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