Hadi: UN roadmap in Yemen a ‘betrayal of martyrs’

Yemeni President in exile Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi yesterday rejected the UN’s roadmap for peace in the country, saying its acceptance is “betrayal of the blood of martyrs”, AlKhaleejOnline reported.

Speaking at the headquarters of the Yemeni government in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Hadi refused the roadmap which was suggested by UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed during his visit to the region this weekend.

Ahmed had discussed the terms of the roadmap with member of the Houthis and forces loyal to ousted Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Last month, Hadi refused Ahmed’s roadmap saying it “legalises the coup carried out by the Houthis”.

The roadmap marginalises Hadi’s role in a proposed transitional period as it stipulates having a vice president who holds the power of the president, who will be asked to choose a national character to form a government.

On Saturday, the official Yemeni news agency Saba reported the Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malik Al-Mekhlafi saying: “The [roadmap] does not make peace. It increases internal division and fighting.”