Houthi militias in Yemen are backed by Iran and cannot decide when it comes to war and peace, Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat, demanding the international community pressures the group into stopping the violence and entering the peace process.
In a phone conversation with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on Sunday, Mubarak discussed the tragic situation in Marib governorate’s Abdiyah district, where civilians are subject to war crimes committed by the Houthis.
Yemen’s top diplomat had held a series of phone calls with UN officials over the last few days to brief them on the disastrous humanitarian conditions in Abdiyah and the crimes staged by the insurgents in Marib overall.
“The international position is weak and does not rise to the occasion regarding events in Abdiyah,” Mubarak told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The militias are taking paybacks from civilians and the wounded, confirmed the foreign minister, calling on the UN and the international community to assume responsibility and intervene swiftly to end such crimes.
Mubarak and Grundberg discussed Yemeni politics under Houthi escalation.
Underlining that Houthis do not hold power to choose between war or peace when it comes to decision-making, Mubarak urged the international community to find real and effective ways to pressure the group to stop the violence and engage in a peace process that ends the suffering of Yemenis.
In other news, The International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Chief of Mission in Yemen, Christa Rottensteiner, reviewed some of the Organization’s activities and plans in various regions of the war-torn country and its efforts to expand activities and programs directed at protecting and improving the conditions of the displaced and refugees.
She thanked the internationally-recognized Yemeni government for the support it provides for the Organization’s work in Yemen.
