Yemen condemns Houthis for attack on Sudanese Embassy in Sana’a

Yemen has condemned Tuesday’s attack on the Sudanese Embassy in Sana’a blaming the Houthi group and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People’s Congress (GPC) for looting and ransacking the diplomatic mission, in a statement by the official foreign ministry released yesterday.

The foreign ministry’s statement followed the second attack on the embassy which previously came under fire in the Yemeni capital in July. The announcement read: “The attack by the coup militias on the embassy of the sisterly Republic of the Sudan for the second time, the looting of the mission’s vehicles and the tampering with its contents confirms the militia is determined to commit crimes without respect for the diplomatic missions’ premises.”

The ministry also described the attack as

clear evidence of systematic violations of [international] laws and covenants and an indication of the moral and ethical bankruptcy of the Houthi militia.

In March 2015, Sudan called on its nationals to register at the embassy and be prepared to be evacuated following several armed but low key attacks on its premises immediately after Sudan joined the Saudi-led military operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Reports say at least 5,000 Sudanese reside in Yemen and many were moved to more secure areas and safer places in the capital.

Read: Up to 50 teen migrants ‘deliberately drowned’ off Yemen

The Houthi media is known to regularly denounce Sudan for its participation in the Saudi-led military coalition but the group denies that any of its fighters were behind the attacks on the embassy.

The Yemeni foreign ministry said the attack was clearly intended to damage relations between the Yemeni people and Sudan and called on the international community to condemn “the criminal actions” of the Houthis who control most of northern Yemen.