Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani accused on Monday some UN Security Council member states, which he did not name, of using unrealistic justifications as a pretext to stop the Yemeni Army from moving towards liberating the strategic port city of Hodeidah from Houthis’ grip.
“Some UNSC member states are resorting to blackmail when dealing with the Yemeni file by pretending to care about the safety of civilians, whereas their real target is to support Houthi rebels,” the minister said in a phone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Those states had in the past used pressure in the Syrian file. They are now interfering in some details related to the Yemeni file,” he added.
The minister said those states need to realize that the Yemeni file is a red line.
“Those states escalate their positions without respecting what is happening on the ground. They claim that the move of legitimate forces towards the western coast would harm civilians,” he said.
Al-Yamani said that contrary to those practices, legitimate forces want to exert pressure on militias to hand over Hodeidah and prevent a battle in the streets of the city to safeguard civilians’ life.
He accused militias of trying to completely destroy Hodeidah and plunge the city in a war.
“Some states want to stop the Yemeni Army from liberating Hodeidah in order to revive the presence of militias and allow them the chance to rearrange their ranks for a longer period,” Al-Yamani said.
He added that those states should realize that Iran is not related to Yemen and is not part of the Arab region.
“Iran should lift its hands from Yemen and stop interfering in our internal affairs. Iran is the problem and not the solution for the Yemeni crisis,” the minister explained.
