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Yemen minister: ‘Houthi movement continues to violate ceasefire’

April 10, 2020 at 3:13 am

Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani, 11 March 2020 [Twitter]

Yemeni information minister, Muammar Al-Eryani, announced on Thursday that the Houthi movement violated the ceasefire by bombing the cities of Marib (east) and Al-Hudaydah (west).

Al-Eryani explained that: “The Houthi militia responded to the Coalition to Support Legitimacy’s calls to adhere to the armistice by firing a missile at populated residential neighbourhoods in Marib, and bombing liberated areas in Al-Hudaydah, while engaging into a desperate attempt to regain control of Al-Labnat camp east of Al-Jawf (north).”

He added in a series of tweets that: “The escalation, which came hours after the initiative undertaken by the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen to apply a comprehensive ceasefire for two weeks, confirms the Houthis’ lack of seriousness.”

Al-Eryani accused the Houthi movement of: “Blindly serving Iran’s interests with complete disregard for the interests of the Yemeni people and the dangers awaiting the Yemenis in anticipation of the spread of COVID-19 in the country.”

He also held the United Nation (UN) envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, fully responsible for: “The Houthis’ relentless crimes against the Yemenis, and their attempts to escalate in various battle fronts.”

Houthi ballistic missile strikes Yemen’s Marib hours before ceasefire

The Yemeni minister called for asserting tougher international stances to protect civilians and stop the raids on residential neighbourhoods, which constitute war crimes.

It was not possible to obtain an immediate response from the Houthis regarding these accusations.

On Wednesday evening, the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia announced a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen for two weeks, starting from 9 Thursday April, with the possibility of renewing it.

While the Houthi movement did not comment on the initiative, the UN welcomed this step and called on the parties to the conflict in Yemen to: “Seize the opportunity and immediately halt all hostilities, with the aim of making progress towards a comprehensive and sustainable peace.”

Yemen did not report any cases of infection with the coronavirus until Thursday. However, the country suffers from a near total collapse in all sectors, especially the health sector. 80 per cent of the Yemeni citizens are in need of humanitarian assistance, as a result of six years of continuous armed clashes.

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