UN envoy says Houthis refuse to respond to international efforts

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed revealed Friday that a close meeting between the United Nations and representatives of the Houthi militias will take place in Geneva or in any other regional countries, such as Muscat or Cairo.

He said in an interview with Al Arabiya channel that the upcoming meeting will discuss the details of the initiative of al-Hodeida port and Sana’a airport, adding that the Hodeidah plan allows for the entry of humanitarian aid and food.

Regarding the Houthi and Saleh’s militia, he added, “they are closing the door, but we are still trying with them.” Ould Cheikh Ahmed pointed out that there is difficulty in reaching an agreement with them during negotiations, expressing concern about the consequences of the clashes between the Houthis and Saleh’s militia.

The UN envoy said that the city of Taiz has reached a catastrophic humanitarian situation and that there is no solution but for all institutions to work under the control of the legitimate government. He praised Yemen’s government for backing up his efforts. On the other hand, AlArabiya.net quoted Yemen’s Foreign Minister as saying that Iran has a project, replacing the state with the sect and the army with militias.

Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi blamed Iran and its support for Houthi Shi’ite rebels for causing the country’s civil war and said it can’t be part of the solution. He said at a press conference at the United Nations in New York that Iranian weapons are still being smuggled into Yemen.

The poor humanitarian situation in Yemen was imposed by the Houthi coup, Mekhlafi added, pointing out that international organizations are trying to find humanitarian solutions at the expense of the national cause. The Yemeni Foreign Minister said the United Nations would not accept for airplanes to use a Houthi-controlled airport.

He noted that UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien “has promised to visit Taiz, but the militias did not allow him and he did not talk about it.” Mekhlafi explained that there are talks about Sana’a airport, but no one is mentioning the siege imposed on Taiz, stressing that ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh hates Taiz since demonstrations against him started there. “We have also moved the Central Bank to Aden after billions disappeared from it,” Mekhlafi further noted.

In the same context, Iran is “the cause of the problem” in Yemen and “can’t be part of the solution,” Yemen’s foreign minister said. “Iran continues to support the Houthis, Iranian arms are smuggled in,” Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi said at a news conference at the United Nations in New York.

“Iran has no role to play in the region,” echoed the Saudi ambassador to the United Nations, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi. Saudi humanitarian aid to Yemen is estimated to top 8.2 billion dollars.The Saudi-led military coalition largely controls the country’s airspace, although US drones also carry out strikes on suspected Al-Qaeda bases there. More than 8,300 people have been killed and 44,000 wounded since the Saudi-led coalition entered the Yemen war in 2015.

Close to 2,000 Yemenis have also died of cholera since April and another 600,000 are expected to contract the infection this year.