Yemen Laments Saudi Aggression’s Failure to Respond to Three-day Ceasefire

By Staff, Agencies

Yemen's Supreme Political Council slammed the Saudi-led coalition for failure to respond to a three-day truce announced by the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, stating there will be no peace in the impoverished country unless the crippling blockade is lifted.

The council said in a statement that the initiative demonstrated beyond doubt the steely determination of the Sanaa-based National Salvation Government to establish overall peace and stability in Yemen, and uphold the principle of good neighborliness.

“We are fully aware of the nature of the Saudi-led coalition of aggression, constant procrastination and foot-dragging, and other deviant methods,” the statement read.

“We do not object to any positive proposal put forward under any title and from any party; but we reiterate there will be no peace without lifting the siege,” the Yemeni Supreme Political Council pointed out.

The council further stressed that any peace initiative to end the Yemeni crisis and reach a comprehensive political resolution must respect the sovereignty and independence of the Yemeni nation.

“Yemen reserves the fundamental right to adopt political and military measures that will guarantee and safeguard its legitimate interests,” the statement emphasized.

On Monday evening, the leader of Ansarullah resistance movement Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi urged the Riyadh regime to seize on his group’s announcement of a three-day truce with the Saudi-led alliance to immediately halt all military operations and brutal siege against the country.

“There is no chance for the countries waging aggression against Yemen to escape our retaliatory attacks, and get out of the current predicament unless they end the onslaught, lift the all-out blockade and end occupation,” Sayyed al-Houthi said.

The Ansarullah chief warned the Saudi-led coalition against losing the opportunity provided by the three-day truce, calling on Saudi Arabia and its allies to agree to a permanent ceasefire. “You will be regretful if you miss the chance,” he stressed.

Chairman of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat n Saturday evening announced the suspension of retaliatory missile and drone attacks and all military actions against Saudi Arabia for a period of three days.

“This is a sincere invitation and practical step to rebuild trust and take all the sides from the arena of talks to the arena of acts,” al-Mashat said.

The truce came a day after a wave of drone and missile attacks hit targets across Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, at least five civilians have sustained injuries when Saudi border forces shelled a residential neighborhood in Yemen’s northwestern province of Saada despite a month-long ceasefire declared by the Saudi-led coalition.

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war against Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allies, chief among them the UAE, and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western states.

The objective was to bring back to power the former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.

The war has stopped well short of all of its goals, despite killing hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and turning the entire country into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.