Al Mukalla: The leader of Sana’a Resistance has said that his forces and pro-government army are determined to push the Al Houthis and their allied forces out of the capital by military means if the UN-brokered peace talks did not convince them.
Mansour Al Hanaq, an MP from Arhab district on the outskirt of the capital, told Gulf News on Monday that Sana’a Resistance fighters are getting closer to the capital after crossing in from the neighbouring Marib province.
“We hope that Al Houthis ... commit to the UN Security Council Resolution 2216 which asks them to leave the capital and the rest of the country and hand over army weapons in their possession to the state. If they refuse, the resistance is determined to liberate the capital, Sana’a province and the rest of the country at any cost,”
Al Hanaq’s statement comes as anti-Al Houthi forces have recently reached Nehim district in Sana’a province, the closest point to the capital, for the first time since the Al Houthi movement came to power by force in September last year.
Al Hanaq, a powerful tribal leader who challenged the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in the wake of Arab Spring-inspired protests in 2011, said that the Sana’a Resistance consists of thousands of people who were affected by Al Houthis’ capture of the capital.
“Sana’a Resistance has been formed from across the political and social spectrum. There are tribal leaders, political forces, military personnel, human rights activists, journalists, intellectuals and women.”
Talks about a possible military operation to wrest the capital from the Al Houthis surfaced for the first time three months ago when a Saudi-led coalition dispatched huge military equipment and highly trained forces from Saudi Arabia to the province of Marib. Al Hanaq said that the operation in the capital is linked to military advances on the ground.
“Sana’a liberation operation has not been stalled or revoked. It is part of a wider military plan to liberate Yemen from Al Houthis. The operation is in its natural framework and linked to the advance on the frontlines. The liberation of Sana’a has begun from Aden, Shabwa and Marib. The resistance is now on the edges of the capital from the Marib side.”
Commenting on the unfruitful peace talks that ended in Geneva on Sunday night, Al Hanaq said that Al Houthis will not leave power through negotiations, citing previous examples in which the militants quickly back-pedalled after endorsing peace plans.
“From many previous situations, we understand that Al Houthis do not honour their promises. The six wars in Saada and their revolt against the outcomes of the National Dialogue showed that Al Houthis are intending to destroy the state’s agencies and incite chaos in the country to serve the agendas of foreign forces like Iran.”
