Ansarullah chief: Yemeni forces possess indigenous missiles impervious to US interception

The leader of Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement says the country’s armed forces are currently in possession of home-grown ballistic missiles that sophisticated US-made surface-to-air missile systems cannot intercept or shoot down.

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, addressing a group of visiting tribal leaders and dignitaries from the southwestern province of Ta'izz in Sana’a on Wednesday, said the main priority at the moment was "to counter the [Saudi-led] aggression", as "military threats" persist and enemies continue to stockpile munitions to stoke "more tensions in the next phase,”  

“We now possess high-precision missiles that can cruise very long distances, and the new American system has failed to intercept them," the Yemeni leader said. "Saudi Arabia reached out to all the countries of the world to acquire systems that can shoot down our missiles. It even had to beg the Israeli enemy for help."

Yemen to continue retaliatory attacks until Saudi-led coalition stops war: Army spokesman

Yahya Saree says despite relentless aerial and artillery attacks by the Saudi-led coalition and its mercenaries, Yemeni people have remained resilient over the past years of war.

Houthi said efforts are underway to incorporate cutting-edge technology into homegrown Yemeni combat drones and enhance the flight endurance of unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Attempts are also being made to develop our air defense capabilities, as we have managed to down all types of enemy drones in recent years," he said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Houthi pointed to the heinous crimes of the Saudi-led coalition forces in Ta’izz province, stressing that the organized crimes of the alliance in the area and its strikes were aimed at the destruction of the infrastructure there will never be forgotten.

“Traitors are neither the representatives of Yemen nor any part of the country. The honorable people who are fighting for liberation and independence are, in fact, the true representatives of this nation.

“The United States and the West are working to remove all outstanding obstacles in the region for the Israeli enemy under the pretext of normalizing diplomatic ties. US and Western policies towards the [Middle East] region and Yemen in the particulate center around a plan aimed at targeting free people to serve the Israeli enemy’s interests,” the Ansarullah chief said.

Saudi-led war on Yemen has killed well over 3,000 children: Rights group

Of that number, nine children were killed under torture, the Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations said.

“We cannot forgo the freedom and independence of our homeland under any circumstances. We are in an important situation. The enemy is arrogant and tries to capture even a small victory to attain some of its goals. The enemy is trying to recruit a large number of forces and prepare for the next phase,” Houthi said.

“We will not leave a legacy of foreign occupation and guardianship for future generations. The purpose of the [Saudi-led] aggression is to carve out a future role for the Israeli regime in Yemen. The one who is propagating normalization of ties, cooperation, partnership, and alliance with Israel is the one who is invading our country."

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and other Western states.

The objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.

While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to meet any of its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

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