Abu Dhabi: US officials have warned against the devastating consequences that the military escalation of the terrorist Al Houthi militia will have on the humanitarian situation in Ma’rib Governorate.
US envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, and Chargé d’Affairs to the US embassy Kathy Westley, during a video call with the Governor of Ma’rib, Major General Sultan Al Arada, expressed their concern over the devastating humanitarian consequences of Al Houthi attacks on Ma’rib, and the need to increase humanitarian aid and other forms of support for the local population, according to the official Yemeni News Agency (Saba).
The officials affirmed their country’s stance against targeting civilians and the displaced, and their support for reaching a comprehensive solution in the country.
Iran-backed Al Houthis have defied US and UN calls to halt their deadly offensive on Yemen’s central city of Ma’rib by drumming up supporters to join the battlefields.
Thousands of rebel fighters and government troops have been killed in fierce fighting since February, when the Al Houthis renewed a major offensive to seize control of Ma’rib, the government’s last stronghold in the country’s north.
Local and international aid organisations and officials warned that the Al Houthis’ invasion of Ma’rib would trigger a displacement that would fuel the humanitarian crisis, as the city hosts more than 2 million people who have already fled fighting and Al Houthis suppression.
Yemen’s cabinet have urged the international community to take a firm and clear stand against the Al Houthis’ repeated rejection of peace initiatives and their determination to worsen the humanitarian crisis.
“Hazy positions would push this militia and its supporters in Tehran into increasing the suffering (of Yemenis) and the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen,” the Cabinet said in a statement.
