Aden (Union)
Yemen has confirmed that the Houthi group thrives on war, and that its current escalation proves that it is not ready for peace. This was stated by the Yemeni Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Muammar Al-Eryani, who pointed out that the Houthis continue their violations against the Yemeni people, reviewing regional and international peace efforts that clashed with the Houthi practices in all rounds of dialogue that the Yemeni government welcomed and supported.
Al-Eryani pointed out the ongoing acts of piracy and attacks carried out by the Houthi group against commercial ships and oil tankers in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden, and the resulting great damage, the first victim of which is the Yemeni people, who are affected by the high value of insurance that has affected people’s lives and livelihoods.
This came during the meeting of Minister Al-Eryani, yesterday, in the city of Mukalla in Hadhramaut Governorate, with the delegation of the Office of the UN Envoy, headed by the Office’s Senior Advisor, “Al-Zahraa Lanqi”, and the membership of the country representative of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, “Dina Zorba”.
Al-Eryani recalled that the Yemeni government had begun to pay salaries to employees, reaching about 60% of state employees, but the Houthi group took unilateral steps to prevent the circulation of the official currency in the areas under its control, which prevented the continued payment of salaries. It also targeted oil facilities and prevented oil exports so that the government would not be able to pay salaries to employees in the liberated areas where more than 4 million displaced people are present.
Al-Eryani pointed out that without the efforts of the brothers in the Coalition to Support Legitimacy led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their support for the Yemeni government and people, the government would not have been able to pay salaries to employees in the liberated areas, in addition to their continuous and generous support in all humanitarian, relief and development aspects.
Al-Eryani expressed his hope that the UN Secretary-General’s envoy to Yemen would review his approach to the Houthi group, referring to the suffering of thousands of forcibly abducted people in Houthi prisons, the latest of whom are workers for international organizations.
For her part, the Senior Advisor at the Office of the UN Envoy to Yemen reviewed the strategy of the Office of the Envoy and its basic vision for peace and inclusiveness aimed at promoting sustainable peace in Yemen. She highlighted the Office of the Envoy’s keenness to give the world a positive image of the situation in Yemen, stressing the Office of the Envoy’s reliance on the wisdom of the Yemeni government and its keenness to develop the existing partnership with it. She considered the presence of the delegation in Hadhramaut Governorate and its participation in the town festival as a promotion of peace, appreciating the efforts of the Yemeni government in this context.
In another context, the US Central Command in the Middle East (CENTCOM) announced, in a statement on the “X” platform, that its forces destroyed a drone belonging to the “Houthi” group over the Red Sea, after it became clear that the drone “represents an imminent threat to the United States, coalition forces, and commercial ships in the region.”
Since last November, the Houthis have been launching attacks with missiles, drones and booby-trapped boats on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis have attacked at least 88 commercial ships since the start of their campaign against international maritime trade, according to statistics published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The Houthi attacks have prompted some shipping companies to detour around South Africa to avoid the Red Sea, a vital route for global maritime trade.
In an attempt to deter the Houthi group and confront its attacks, US and British forces have been launching strikes on the group’s sites since January 12. Washington is also leading an international naval coalition aimed at protecting maritime navigation in this strategic region, through which 12 percent of global trade passes. The US military alone occasionally carries out strikes on Houthi missiles and drones that it says are ready to be launched. The European Union is also carrying out a security mission in the Red Sea to protect international maritime trade and secure its shipping lanes.
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