Houthis ‘waging economic war’, Yemen government says

The Yemeni government said yesterday that the Houthis are “waging economic war”, noting that the country had lost $100 billion as a result of the civil war.

Yemen’s Prime Minister, Salim Al-Khanbashi, said in a meeting with international envoys in the port city of Aden that “the Houthis looted the country’s institutions, systematically killed people and destroyed everything to achieve their goals,” Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported.

Al-Khanbashi said that the latest evidence of the Houthis’ aggression was the “criminal” attack which targeted the leadership of the defence ministry. He claimed that the Houthis targeted civilians with mortars and artillery, as well as sieging civilians in Taiz, northwest of Aden, bombarding them with heavy weapons.

The temporary government in Yemen is renovating economic and security infrastructure, as well as reforming financial services to increase the value of local currency. The authorities are also working to repair roads, electricity, sewage, water and schools.

During the meeting, Al-Khanbashi said that the country is suffering because the Houthis are not committed to the agreements reached during the peace talks held in Swedish capital Stockholm in December.

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