Houthis and Saleh ‘control 30% of Yemen’

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Riyad Yassin said on Monday that Shia Houthi rebels and militia allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh control just 30 to 35 per cent of the country, Anadolu news agency has reported.

Yassin told reporters at the Yemen Embassy in Kuwait that the current war will not continue for long and it has specific targets. “The Yemeni people survived 33 years of Saleh’s rule with poor infrastructure and no prospects and they will continue to be strong,” he insisted.

The minister pointed out that Iranian mediation aims only to save its allies, the Houthis. “When we needed Iran to intervene and persuade its allies to stop the fighting, it refused, but now that the Yemeni people have risen up against the Houthis and Saleh, [Tehran] is working to save its allies.” Last week, Iran proposed a four-point peace plan for Yemen, which included an immediate ceasefire and the formation of a unity government.

Mediation, Yassin noted, should come from a neutral party, but Iran is a party to the conflict. “Our conditions are clear and the militias must abide by the UN Security Council resolutions.”

Once the political situation stabilises in Yemen, the foreign minister added, donor countries have pledged to provide $8 billion to rebuild the country’s infrastructure. He denied reports of mediation efforts by neighbouring Oman, saying instead that the two states have ongoing contact to exchange views and help Yemenis who have fled to the sultanate.