No lasting peace in Yemen without end to Saudi war, siege: Ansarullah

The Houthi Ansarullah movement says any political solution to the Yemen conflict should begin with an end to the US-sponsored Saudi military aggression and the blockade on the impoverished state.

“We renew our firm position that any comprehensive, just and lasting political solution will not be practically achieved before ending the aggression and lifting the siege,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam tweeted on Thursday.

His comments come as Yemen is marking the fifth anniversary of the military campaign that the Saudi regime and its allies launched against the impoverished nation with the support of the US and its Western allies in 2015 to reinstall a former Riyadh-friendly government.

The Yemeni official described the war as an American campaign of aggression “executed by Saudi-Emirati tools,” saying the offensive has achieved “nothing but arbitrary massacres,the likes of which the world has never seen.”

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Yemen’s rival parties to work with his Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, to achieve a nation-wide de-escalation, saying, “a political solution is the only way to a comprehensive and sustainable resolution of the conflict in Yemen.”

It followed an earlier call by Guterres for “an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world” to tackle the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Yemen’s Ansarullah welcomes UN call for global ceasefire to tackle coronavirus pandemic

Yemen’s Ansarullah movement welcomes a request by the UN chief for a global ceasefire to help the world better focus on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

He also warned that in war-torn countries health systems have collapsed and the small number of health professionals left were often targeted in the fighting.

On Wednesday, Mahdi al-Mashat, the president of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council welcomed Guterres’ call for a ceasefire in the conflict-ridden country.

“We welcome the UN secretary-general’s call for cease-fire...we reaffirmed our readiness to deal with all peace initiatives to achieve a comprehensive political solution,” he said in a televised speech. “We are ready to cooperate to move from war stage to peace.”

Meanwhile, Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Colonel Turki Al-Maliki said the alliance supports Griffiths’ efforts towards a ceasefire in Yemen.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen, also tweeted that the coalition’s announcement of support for a ceasefire is welcomed and that the Houthis are waiting for it to be applied practically.

HRW: Saudi forces torture, disappear Yemeni civilians in al-Mahrah

Human Rights Watch says Saudi forces and their allies have commited serious abuses against Yemeni civilians since June last year in al-Mahrah.

According to a tally released last November by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project or ACLED, over 100,000 Yemenis have been killed in the war.

The Western-backed bombing campaign, coupled with a naval blockade, has plunged Yemen into what the UN says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Yemen has not recorded any COVID-19 cases to date, but the possibility of an outbreak threatens the country’s fragile healthcare system, which is already struggling to fight cholera and dengue fever.

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