Abdul Malik al-Houthi questions Saudi initiative to stop fighting as war escalates

Amira Sherif

After the initiative announced by Saudi Arabia to end the war and establish peace in Yemen, which included a ceasefire agreement under the supervision of the United Nations, the resumption of political talks and the partial opening of Sanaa International Airport, the spokesman for the Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militia, Mohammed Abdul Salam, confirmed the readiness of the Houthis for good relations with Saudi Arabia, adding that the Omani mediator was informed of their observations on the Saudi initiative.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah announced a new peace initiative to end the Yemen war, and the Saudi government called on the Yemeni parties to accept the plan, explaining that “the Saudi initiative includes a ceasefire across the country under the supervision of the United Nations.”

He added that “the Saudi-led coalition will ease the blockade of Hodeidah port, tax revenues from the port will go to a joint bank account at the central bank,” and “it will allow the reopening of Sanaa airport to a specified number of direct regional and international destinations.”

In another context, the leader of the Houthi group, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said in a speech on the occasion of the National Day of Resilience that “the Americans, Saudis and some countries tried to persuade us to barter the humanitarian file for military and political agreements, but we cannot agree to that,” noting that “the arrival of oil derivatives and food, medical and basic materials is a human and legal entitlement that cannot be in return for blackmail on military and political terms.”

He pointed out that he had not received any official initiative by Saudi Arabia, and that what was done was a media invitation only, accusing the Kingdom of not being serious in stopping the war in Yemen.

“If we had accepted the exploitation of humanitarian files, militarily and politically, it would be a betrayal of our people, and the enemy would have relied on justifying their obstruction of reaching humanitarian needs by the occurrence of any field clash,” he continued.

“The road to peace is clear. Stop your aggression, end your siege and end your occupation of our governorates,” he added.

The Houthi leader expressed his readiness for peace, saying, “We cannot trade off the right of our people to freedom, independence and dignity, nor their legitimate rights with access to oil derivatives and human needs.”

“We do not care about anyone who asks us to be suppressed and surrender to the brutality of the enemies, and we move as a Yemeni people of all components and classes to confront the aggression,” he added.

Al-Houthi concluded his speech by thanking Iran, Hezbollah and its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, and the Sultanate of Oman because they “supported the Yemeni people in their grievances.”

Regarding domestic affairs, Al-Houthi expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s performance, stressing “the continuous pursuit of purification and reform of state institutions to carry out their duties towards the people,” considering it a “large and complex responsibility due to the effects of the previous regime.”

Observers believe that the Houthis will accept the initiative in principle as an opportunity to catch a breath after the intensification of their siege in several Yemeni regions, while others expect that the militia would elude the initiative by accepting the initiative and then withdrawing from it in the future.

The Houthis have intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia with drones and missiles, especially on oil facilities, and they escalated a ground attack to seize the gas-rich Marib region. The coalition responded with air strikes on Houthi military sites.

Saudi Arabia, the largest ally of the United States in the Middle East, has led since March 2015 the Arab coalition waging intense military operations in Yemen in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government loyal to President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which has been fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi forces, who have controlled the capital, Sanaa, since 2014.

After six years of fighting for power in a conflict that claimed the lives of thousands, Yemen is witnessing a collapse in the health, economy, education and other sectors, while more than 3.3 million displaced people live in schools and camps where diseases such as cholera are spread due to the scarcity of clean water.

The six-year-old conflict has killed about 130,000 people, including more than 12,000 civilians, according to the United Nations, and it is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, in the poorest country in the Arab world.

The complexity of the humanitarian situation in Yemen is further complicated by Iran’s interference and support for the Houthi militia, which continues to this day to carry out violations against civilians and innocent people, such as subjecting many of them to recruitment and fighting on their side against government forces or imprisoning and torturing them, impeding the work of relief organizations, and obstructing the access of humanitarian aid to civilians.